Lot 3445
Ellis, Olympia, ca. 408 BC. Zeus mint. Struck for the 93rd Olympaid. Silver Stater (11.74g). Head of eagle with piercing eye left; under its beak large leaf of white-poplar. Reverse: Winged thunderbolt, olive sprigs to right and left; all within olive-leaf border. Seltman 150; Traite pl. 231, 1 (these dies). Kraay-Himer pl. 157, 500 (this obverse die); Gulbenkian 541 (this obverse die); Weber 4038. One of the masterpieces of Greek coinage (Seltman cover coin). Lightly toned and of good metal. Very Fine/Fine.
The powerful head of the eagle, representing Zeus, is one of the finest animal depictions in Greek coinage. The leaf below the eagle's head is from the white-poplar tree, sacred to Herakles which man brought from the northern lands to plant at Olympia.
Estimated Value $2,000 - 2,500.
|
| |
| Realized $2,990 |
