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Greek coins, Cyzicus, Stater

Currency:CHF Category:Coins & Paper Money / Coins: Ancient Start Price:32,000.00 CHF Estimated At:40,000.00 - 50,000.00 CHF
Greek coins, Cyzicus, Stater
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Greek coins, Cyzicus, Stater ca. 380, EL 16.03 g. Bearded and horned head of Silenus (or Pan) l., wearing ivy wreath; below neck truncation, tunny. Rev. Quadripartite incuse square with granular surfaces. SNG von Aulock 7139. Boston 1564. Kraay-Hirmer pl. 200, 722 (these dies). Gulbenkian 664 (these dies). SNG France 330 (this obverse die). von Fritze 191 (this obverse die). Rare. A stunning portrait of late Classical style. Insignificant marks at nine o’clock on obverse field, otherwise about extremely fine More than any other Cyzicus stater, this one speaks to the relations between Cyzicus and its great trading partner to the north, Panticapaeum, the site of modern Kerch. Numerous Cyzicene staters have been found in the region of Kerch, testifying to their broad circulation in the Crimea. This arresting Pan-Silenus head seems to have been borrowed from the obverse of the gold staters of Panticapaeum, which were issued in great quantity from about 350 to 320 B.C.; however, if the stater predates that period we might presume the motif was inspired by other art media from the Crimean empire of Panticapaeum. There is ample evidence of the relation of these two cities as supplier and consumer of gold. It has been suggested that the main supply of gold for Cyzicene staters was the rich mines of the Ural mountains, which produced high-purity gold in such an abundant quantity that Greenwell indicates that for quite some time inhabitants of the Crimea valued it at nearly one-third less than the Greeks. Such a dramatic disparity in the value of a commodity as desirable as gold gave the Greeks a unique opportunity to profit from the Crimean trade, especially since the region exported other valuable commodities, such as grain, fish, slaves and amber. The natural foe of Cyzicus in this regard was Athens, which jealously guarded its trade relations with Panticapaeum and its hinterlands.