Lot 4360
Mysia, Kyzikos. Electrum Stater (16.0 g) struck ca. 450-400 BC. Dionysos, holding thyrsos (fennel staff tipped with a pinecone), seated sidewise on a panther striding left, its forepaw raised; tunny left, below. Reverse: Quadripartite incuse square. Boston MFA 1568. Rare. Obverse somewhat off center as is common, losing top of Dionysos' head and most of the thyrsos. Oblongish flan. Very Fine.
One of the earliest and most successful Milesian colonies along the Sea of Marmara, Kyzikos commanded a strategic position at the entry to the Black Sea. Thanks to her location, Kyzikos prospered greatly, and her wealth is reflected in the extensive series of electrum staters it produced from 550 to 350 BC depicting a rich array of types, many mythological. As a unifying common theme throughout its electrum coinage, Kyzikos employs the symbol of the city, the tunny. Shoals of these large, fatty and nutrition-rich fish constantly passed through the Propontis on their way from the Euxine to the Aegean Sea. An essential part of the Kyzikene economy, tunny was also one of the most important foods in the ancient Mediterranean diet, and its use as a symbol on the far-travelled Kyzikene coinage would clearly have had great propaganda value.
Estimated Value $5,000 - 7,500.
The Hunter collection.
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| Realized $6,038 |
