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Nomos 23

30 November 2021
Zunfthaus zur Saffran, Zurich

overview
Estimate: 17500 CHF
Hammer Price:  16000 CHF
Lot 126
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MYSIA. Kyzikos. Circa 500-450 BC. Stater (Electrum, 20 mm, 16.09 g). Gorgoneion facing, with open mouth, protruding tongue and serpent hair; below, tunny fish to left. Rev. Quadripartite incuse square. BMFA 1445 = Warren 1492. SNG Paris -. Von Fritze 129. Very rare. Nicely centered and clearly struck. Good very fine.

From a European collection, ex Roma X, 27 September 2015, 495.

Gorgoneia were very popular on Greek coinage during the 6th and 5th centuries BC - as on the coinage of Neapolis, above lots 68-69 - so it is not surprising to find one here on the coinage of Kyzikos. The proportions of the head are actually rather odd: here cheeks extend outwards far beyond her ears, giving her head a rather pear-shaped look. Given that the choice of types for the electrum coinage of Kyzikos were left to the magistrates responsible for each issue, it would be interesting if the magistrate responsible for this piece had connections with a city like Apollonia, or Neapolis or Parion, which used a gorgoneion as a badge on its own coinage.

Online bidding closes: 30 Nov 2021, 08:00:00 CET Current Date & Time: 20 Apr 2024, 03:44:46 CEST Remaining Time: Closed Hammer Price:16000 CHF

Pre-Bidding closes on 30 November 2021 at 8:00 CET. Live bidding starts at 14:00 CET and is EXCLUSIVELY available on biddr. Separate registration is required.

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