Lot 4352
Aegina. Silver Stater (12.24g) struck ca. 370 BC. Land tortoise with segmented shell, head tilted slightly left; pattern on each plate of shell; "pattern-framed" around. Reverse: Refined incuse skew pattern. Millbank pl. 2, 14; SNG Delepierre 1545; Dewing 1686. Attractive iridescent highlights. Superb Extremely Fine.
The island of Aegina was probably the first state in European Greece to issue coined money (mid-sixth century BC). The Aeginetans were famed for their seamanship and were a considerable naval power in the Aegean area. Their didrachm-stater of about 12.6 grams became the accepted standard for numerous mints in the Cyclades, in Crete and in Asia Minor, as well as in Greece itself. In 445 BC, the Thirty Years Peace guaranteed Aegina's autonomy, and a new variant of the Aeginetan coinage was introduced. This depicted the turtle (now usually described as a tortoise) with a segmented carapace in place of the smooth shell of the archaic period. However, with the outbreak of Peloponnesian War in 431 BC, the Aeginetans were expelled from their homes and the island was occupied by Athenian cleruchs, a situation that prevailed until the Athenian defeat in 404 BC.
Estimated Value $6,000 - 8,000.
Ex Goldberg Auction 25, May 31, 2004, lot 3228; Coin Galleries, Claude R. Collier Sale, March 9, 1956, lot 1584.
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| Realized $10,350 |
