Nomos 24

CILICIA. Nagidos. Circa 400-380 BC. Stater (Silver, 22 mm, 10.60 g, 1 h). Bearded head of Dionysos to right, wearing an ivy wreath. Rev. [ΝΑΓΙΔΕΩΝ] Head of Aphrodite to right, her hair bound with a sphendone and an ampyx, wearing a single pendant earring and a pearl necklace; before, EΠ. Casabonne Type 7. Jameson 2327 (same dies). Lederer 14 (same dies). SNG Levante 2. Lightly toned, sharply struck, well-centered, and with splendidly engraved heads of both Dionysos and Aphrodite. The head of Dionysos is particularly noble, with his curly hair above his forehead being quite reminiscent of fifth century male portraits from Cyprus. Test cut on the obverse edge and some very slight surface roughness, otherwise, good extremely fine.

From the Paulaner Collection, Bavaria, c. 1960-1990s.

Coins are ideal for sharing ideas due to their portability. Not only did they serve as vehicles for the creativity of the artists who engraved the dies used to strike them, they also reflect the culture that produced them by depicting elements important to the issuing city. Here we have a coin with two heads, the god Dionysos on the obverse and the goddess Aphrodite on the reverse. Both were important to the city of Nagidos, having their roots in Hittite religion, but by the time this coin was issued they had been syncretized into the by then dominant Hellenic culture. The artists (or artist) who engraved these dies were certainly masters of outstanding talent. The portrait of Dionysos displays an elegant serenity, executed in the finest Classical style, which is immediately reminiscent of the finest contemporary heads of Zeus from Olympia.

Test cuts and bankers' marks can cause terrible damage to coins since they have a habit of destroying the unity of their designs. But this one, sharply struck on the coin's obverse, has managed both to miss the wonderful head of Dionysos - it is just before the god's nose - and to avoid causing a corresponding area of flatness on the reverse!