LOT 3152
Cyclades, Karthaia on Keos AE 17mm. Circa late 3rd-2nd centuries BC.
Laureate head of Apollo to right / Radiate forepart of the dog Seirios to right; KAPΘΑ above, bee below. BMC 44; SNG Copenhagen -; HGC 6, 560. Near Very Fine. Rare.(3.92gr, 17mm, 12h.).
ProvenanceAcquired on the European coin market.
Property of a Kent, UK, gentleman.
The citizens of Keos watched for the rising of the Seirios ('Dog Star', the brightest star in the night sky) every year from the mountaintops. By observing the appearance of the star, the inhabitants would try to determine whether the island would suffer from epidemics or not. If the star appeared clear and bright, the islanders would experience a healthy year, but if it appeared misty and dull, disease would spread across the island.
There was a cult where the inhabitants of Keos tried to guard against the effects of Seirios using rituals. They prayed to Aristaios, the son of Apollo and Kyrene, who was taught both medicine and divination by the Centaur Chiron. He came to the island, built an altar, and ordered the islanders to pray to Zeus for refreshing winds and rains (see Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 2.518 ff).
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Lesbos, Mytilene AE 13mm. Circa 350-250 BC.
Sold for (Inc. bp): £13
Female head (Mytilene?) to right, with hair in sphendone / Lyre. Cf. HGC 6, 1052. 1.56gr, 13mm, 5h.
Near Very Fine.
Acquired on the European coin market. Property of a Kent, UK, gentleman. -
Akarnania, Leukas AR Stater. Circa 435 BC.
Sold for (Inc. bp): £338
ΛEY, Pegasus flying to left / Head of Athena to left, wearing Corinthian helmet; in right field, bunch of grapes; before, Λ. Calciati, Pegasi 37/1 (these dies; Λ not mentioned); BCD Akarnanien -. 8.35gr, 23mm, 11h.
Near Very Fine. Very rare. Professionally cleaned.
Ex Numismatica Ars Classica, Autumn Sale 2024, 30 September 2024, lot 316. Acquired on UK art market. Property of a Middlesex gentleman. -
Seleukid Empire, Antiochos VIII Epiphanes (Grypos) AE 19mm. 121-110 BC. Antioch mint.
Sold for (Inc. bp): £20
Diademed and radiate head to right / [B]AΣIΛEΩ[Σ] ANTIOX[OY EΠIΦANOYΣ], eagle standing to left, sceptre under far wing, date and symbols off flan/obscured. Cf. SC 2300.2; HGC 9, 1212; DCA 279. 4.96gr, 19mm, 12h.
Very Fine.
Purchased from Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co. KG, September 2009. Ex Roma Numismatics Ltd., E-Sale 104, 15 December 2022, lot 522. Property of a Middlesex gentleman.
