Nomos 22

MACEDON. Akanthos. c. 500-480 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 26 mm, 17.22 g). Lioness to right, attacking bull collapsing to left; in exergue floral ornament. Rev. Quadripartite incuse square. Cf. Desneux 16 (lioness to left and bull to right). Rauch 111, 2020, 461 (same obverse die). Tselekas -. An extremely rare type, well-centered, nicely toned and with a beautifully engraved type of great power. Reverse very slightly double-struck, otherwise, extremely fine.

The lion and bull tetradrachms of Akanthos were issued in very large numbers for export to take advantage of the abundant silver in the area. As a result they are found over a wide area in the East, ranging from Egypt to the borders of India (their type was an ancient eastern symbol as well). As a sub-variety, a few of the dies for this series have a lioness attacking the bull; these are very much rarer than those with the lion and must only have been made when an engraver decided to be creative!