Nomos 15

ASIA MINOR, Ionia or Lydia. Uncertain city. Circa 600-560 BC. Drachm (Silver, 14 mm, 3.82 g). Wolf, eating bunch of grapes held by his right paw, standing to left on base composed of a horizontal row of pearls between two linear borders. Rev. Quadripartite incuse square. Unpublished and apparently the second example known. For the other example, see Nomos 2, 2010, 112 (same dies, but in an earlier state). Of great rarity. Toned. With rather rough surfaces and a minor cut on the wolf's shoulder, otherwise, very fine.

From the Molard Collection, Switzerland.

While naturalistic, this depiction is surely taken from some local myth, such as the famous tale of the fox and the grapes by Aesop. The fact that Aesop actually came from the area of Asia Minor where this coin was presumably struck (Aesop is closely connected with both Samos and Lydia), and that he lived from the late 7th through the mid 6th century (possibly circa 620-564), makes it very likely that there is a connection between this coin and the cultural milieu that gave rise to Aesop’s fables.