Nomos 24

ELIS. Olympia. 95th Olympiad, 400 BC. Stater (Silver, 22 mm, 12.04 g, 4 h). Eagle’s head and neck to right on round shield with raised rim; below, large incuse F. Rev. F - A Thunderbolt, with volutes above and flames below, on the inside of a shield with a narrow rim and with a curved handle to left and right of the thunderbolt. Gillet 977 (this coin) = Seltman 161a (BU/δδ, this coin). Weber 4044 (= Seltman 161b, now in the BM, London). Extremely rare, one of two examples known. Attractively toned. Good very fine.

From a Swiss collection and from the BCD Collection, Leu Numismatics 90, 10 May 2004, 82, and from the collections of C. Gillet, W. Giesecke, and A. Rhousopoulos, J. Hirsch XIII, 15 May 1905, 2534.

This is an artistic tour-de-force from the engravers at Elis. The eagle’s head is of great power and the idea of viewing the coin as a shield, with the eagle on the outside and the thunderbolt on the inside, is a particularly interesting concept. The presentation of a coin type as if it were displayed on a shield was not invented at Olympia (among other places it turns up on staters of the Lycian dynast Khêrei, as Mørkholm & Zahle 18), but nowhere else is it so effectively carried out.

A note from BCD: In 2004 it was estimated at 22,500 Swiss Francs and opening at 18,000 remained unsold. To me, it was the surprise of the day but soon turned out to be a blessing as I was able to indulge in its haunting beauty for many years to come. In 1892 Sir Hermann Weber publishing the only other known specimen (now in the BM) wrote “The eagle’s head and neck…is of wonderful power and beauty”. In 1923 Leonard Forrer had this to say when reviewing the Locker Lampson collection publication: “Each coin has its own individuality and its special charm; each one fascinates the eye as a vision of beauty”. But the most fitting words come from the foreword of Locker Lampson himself: “You can keep this coin always by you, for you will never weary of it. You will cherish it more and more as a companion and friend…for it contains all those intrinsic qualities that go to make the art of Hellas immortal and unequalled”.