Nomos 29

ISLANDS OFF ATTICA, Aegina. Circa 456/45-431 BC. Tetartemorion (Silver, 5 mm, 0.20 g). Sea turtle. Rev. Incuse square with monogram of ΤΕ. BMC Attica p. lxvi = HN p.396 (for the denomination, but without any specific piece being cited). HGC 6, -. Milbank -. Cf. CNG MBS 70, 2005, 194 (a much later tortoise/skew tetartemorion from Aegina weighing 0.20 g). Extremely rare. Clearly struck and toned. Traces of corrosion and some uncleaned deposits, otherwise, good very fine.

From the "Collection sans Pareille" of Ancient Greek Fractions and from the collection of L. Mildenberg.

This is a coin that has its weight cited by Barclay Head and R.S. Poole in the relevant BM catalogue and in HN, but they do not provide a reference to an actual coin; there is not one in the Traité, which is a well-known repository of oddities, there seems not to be one published by Imhoof-Blumer, nor has one turned up in one of Münzen und Medaillen's FPLs. And it is surely not from Kydonia or Asia Minor. What is even more extraordinary is that the reverse is not the expected skew pattern, but as was rightly pointed by my colleague Dimitrios Gerothanasis, a denomination mark! Curiouser and curiouser!!