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Obolos 16

11 October 2020
Webauction
overview
Starting Price: 500 CHF
Hammer Price:  750 CHF
Lot 373

CYCLADES, Mykonos. 3rd-1st century BC. Dichalkon (?) (Bronze, 15.5 mm, 3.80 g, 7 h). Bearded head of Dionysos to right, wearing ivy wreath. Rev. M-[Y]/K-[O] Grape bunch on vine; to left, barley grain. BMC 1-2. HGC 6, 616. Joy -. SNG Copenhagen 698. Very rare. Brown patina. Corrosion on obverse, light porosity on reverse, otherwise, very fine.

From the Vineyard Collection, ex Hirsch 226, 13 February 2003, 1416.

Like its southern neighbor Naxos, Mykonos was noted in antiquity for the high quality of its vintages. Thus it is logical that the god Dionysos and grapes play a prominent role on the coins from the island. In fact, the god appears on every coin type from Mykonos except one, which shows the goddess Demeter on the obverse. However, all coins from Mykonos - and without exception they are all very rare - also show either a barley grain (as here) or wheat stalks. These are attributes of goddess Demeter Chloe, the epithet Chloe being a feminine name meaning "blooming" or "fertility." In Greek the word refers to the young, green foliage or shoots of plants in spring.

Online bidding closes: 11 Oct 2020, 17:06:30 CEST Current Date & Time: 25 Apr 2024, 12:11:46 CEST Remaining Time: Closed Hammer Price:750 CHF by Aretas19_85 (3 bids)
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