Gemini III, January 9th, 2007



                  Lot # 88Estimate: US$45000
                  MACEDON. Amphipolis. Silver tetradrachm 



             



            MACEDON. Amphipolis. 356/5 BC. Silver tetradrachm (13.70 gm). 
            Laureate head of Apollo inclined slightly to right / AMÖ—IÐO—ËIT—ÙN 
            in linear square border surrounding race torch with grain ear to 
            right. Lorber 44b (O24/R35) (this coin). Of the finest style. Struck 
            in high relief with isolated areas of corrosion. Impressive 
            pedigree. About extremely fine. 

            Ex Charles Gillet Collection, Lausanne; ex Munzen und Medaillen XIX, 
            5–6 June 1959, lot 372. 

            The very artistic facing head tetradrachms of Amphipolis were issued 
            over a period of less than two decades. The head of Apollo on the 
            obverse was frequently reinterpreted, often to distinguish annual 
            issues. In the latter stages of the series, major sculpture appears 
            to have exerted a powerful influence on the Amphipolitan die 
            engravers. The annual issue prior to this one, dated to the year 
            when Amphipolis was besieged by Philip of Macedon, featured an 
            obverse inspired by the head of Apollo from the east frieze of the 
            Parthenon. This allusion can be connected to the Amphipolitans’ 
            unsuccessful attempt to place their city under the protection of 
            Athens. Our tetradrachm belongs to the first full year of minting 
            under Philip. The head of Apollo is very similar to the type of the 
            previous year, only slightly more feminized and seductive. The 
            ethnic is now written in the Attic dialect instead of the Ionic 
            dialect, probably reflecting the use of Attic as the administrative 
            language of the Macedonian kingdom. 






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  ... Lot 88 was unsold.
 


Re-used by permission of Harlan J Berk (www.harlanjberk.com) and
                         Freeman & Sear (www.freemanandsear.com)