Kings of Elymais, Kamnaskires V AR Tetradrachm. Circa 54-32 BC. Seleukeia on the Hedyphon mint.

Gorgoneion facing / Forepart of horse to right, within incuse square. Cf. SNG BnF 108-11 (Kelenderis, Cilicia). 0.66gr, 9mm, 5h.

Very Fine. Very rare.

Acquired on the European coin market. Property of a Kent, UK, gentleman.

Head of Athena to right, wearing crested Attic helmet with raised cheek pieces; behind neck, ΤΗ above ΙΠ (engravers' initials) in small lettering / Φ-Α-Ρ-Σ clockwise around Thessalian cavalryman riding horse prancing to right, wearing petasos, chlamys and chiton, and holding lagobolon over his right shoulder; in exergue, Τ (engraver's initial). Lavva 86 (O43/R51); BCD Thessaly I 1284 var. (TH in exergue); BCD Thessaly II 639 var. (no ΙΠ); HGC 4, 624. 5.95gr, 18mm, 9h.

Good Extremely Fine. Tiny cut on reverse. Attractive toning with golden iridescence around the devices. Sharply struck and surprisingly detailed.

From a Swiss collection, acquired prior to 2005. Ex Nomos AG, Auction 21, 21 November 2020, lot 145 (company's ticket included).

If the harmony and the aristocratic inner peace of the portraits are the first thing that catches our attention, it is the extremely detailed rendering of the figures, especially on the reverse, that makes the viewer cling more to their admiration for this coin. Each depiction of Athena’s head in these emissions of Pharsalos makes us believe that she has her own character and that no two are the same, even though they share the same characteristics. Athena in our coin looks like a tender girl with a serious but innocent look in her eyes. Her divine power, despite her young age, is not violent; it is simply inherent in the serenity of her gaze. On the other hand, the detailed rendering of the cavalryman’s and horse's face, the texture of his chlamys, the harmonious matching of muscles and joints in the horse's body, and even the pronounced veins in the horse's belly convince us of a talented engraver and a gifted artist.

Head of Herakles to right, wearing lion skin headdress, paws tied beneath chin / ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ, Zeus seated to left on backless throne, right leg drawn back, his feet resting on a low foot rest, holding long sceptre in his left hand and, in his right, eagle standing to right with closed wings; monogram of KA in left field, Φ beneath throne. Price 1823. 4.22gr, 17mm, 12h.

Very Fine. Toned.

From the private collection of a Canadian gentleman living in Essex, UK, formed since the 1920s-circa 1990. Property of an Essex lady until the late 1990s; thence by descent. From the private collection of an Essex gentleman since the late 1990s.