Heritage World Coin Auctions
NYINC Signature Sale 3037 Sess. 2-4 5 January 2015
View prices realized
► Sale information
Find similar lots
Ancients
LYCIAN DYNASTS. Mithrapata (ca. 390-370 BC). AR stater (23mm, 9.67 gm, 7h). Antiphellus mint. Forepart of crouching and roaring lion right / Bare head of Mithrapata left; MI-THRA-PATA in Lycian around, triskeles to lower right; all within incuse square. Mildenberg, Mithrapata 3 (O2/R2). SNG von Aulock 4237 (same dies). SNG Copenhagen Supplement 472 variant (arrangement of letters). Rare! Boldly struck in sound metal and beautifully toned. NGC XF★ 5/5 - 5/5, Fine Style. From The California Collection. Ex CNG 94 (18 September 2013), lot 663; Morton & Eden 51 (24 October 2011), lot 163; Spink & Gallerie des Monnaies (15 February 1977), lot 141 (illustrated on front cover).Although coin portraiture is commonly thought to be a Hellenistic invention, the first true portraits actually appeared in Lycia in the late Classical period, under the dynasts who ruled nominally as suzerains of the Persian Great King. Little is known about Mithrapata, who exercised control circa 390-370 BC, but his remarkable coin portraits, which show him on a human scale and with remarkable realism, offer a few intriguing hints. Unlike earlier Lycian dynasts, he does not wear the bashlyk, a Persian cap worn as a symbol of satrapal power, nor does he sport any godlike attributes. This could suggest Mithrapata had declared his independence of the Persian Empire, or that he favored Greek over Persian sensibilities.
Estimate: 7000-10000 USD
LYCIAN DYNASTS. Mithrapata (ca. 390-370 BC). AR stater (23mm, 9.67 gm, 7h). Antiphellus mint. Forepart of crouching and roaring lion right / Bare head of Mithrapata left; MI-THRA-PATA in Lycian around, triskeles to lower right; all within incuse square. Mildenberg, Mithrapata 3 (O2/R2). SNG von Aulock 4237 (same dies). SNG Copenhagen Supplement 472 variant (arrangement of letters). Rare! Boldly struck in sound metal and beautifully toned. NGC XF★ 5/5 - 5/5, Fine Style. From The California Collection. Ex CNG 94 (18 September 2013), lot 663; Morton & Eden 51 (24 October 2011), lot 163; Spink & Gallerie des Monnaies (15 February 1977), lot 141 (illustrated on front cover).Although coin portraiture is commonly thought to be a Hellenistic invention, the first true portraits actually appeared in Lycia in the late Classical period, under the dynasts who ruled nominally as suzerains of the Persian Great King. Little is known about Mithrapata, who exercised control circa 390-370 BC, but his remarkable coin portraits, which show him on a human scale and with remarkable realism, offer a few intriguing hints. Unlike earlier Lycian dynasts, he does not wear the bashlyk, a Persian cap worn as a symbol of satrapal power, nor does he sport any godlike attributes. This could suggest Mithrapata had declared his independence of the Persian Empire, or that he favored Greek over Persian sensibilities.
Estimate: 7000-10000 USD