Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Triton XXVIII – Sessions 1-4 . 66 Numistats ref: 672557
No match
Greek
Category
SICILY, Leontini. Circa 450-440 BC. AR Tetradrachm (24.5mm, 17.37 g, 10h). Head of Apollo right, wearing laurel wreath / Head of roaring lion right; L-EO-NT-I-NO-[N] and four barley grains around. Maltese Period III, 55d (D18/R47 – this coin); Boehringer, Münzgeschichte 35 (same obv. die); HGC 2, 667; SNG Ashmolean 1782 (same dies); Dewing 625 (same dies); Rizzo pl. XXIII, 5 (same obv. die). Toned, trace deposits, a little die wear. Near EF.
From the Gerald F. Borrmann (Northern California Gentleman) Collection. Ex Patrick H. C. Tan Collection (Gemini VII, 9 January 2011), lot 121.
Leontini was founded in 729 BC by settlers from Naxos, the first Greek colony in Sicily, which itself had been established just a few years earlier. In the first decade of the 5th century the city was captured by the tyrant Hippocrates of Gela whose successor, Gelon, transferred his seat of government to Syracuse in 485. Thereafter, Leontini usually remained within the Syracusan sphere of influence, though its 5th century coinage was on a considerable scale attesting the independent wealth of the community. A major political change took place in the late 460s — the expulsion of the tyrants and the restoration of democracy. This was reflected on the Leontine coinage by the introduction of new types featuring the head of Apollo on obverse and a lion’s head on reverse. Apollo was especially revered at Leontini, as he was at the mother city of Naxos where there was a famous sanctuary of Apollo Archegetes. The lion apparently represents a punning allusion to the city name. The surrounding barley-grains are indicative of the exceptional fertility of the Leontine territory and doubtless refer to the local worship of Demeter, the goddess of agriculture. Description
From the Gerald F. Borrmann (Northern California Gentleman) Collection. Ex Patrick H. C. Tan Collection (Gemini VII, 9 January 2011), lot 121.
Leontini was founded in 729 BC by settlers from Naxos, the first Greek colony in Sicily, which itself had been established just a few years earlier. In the first decade of the 5th century the city was captured by the tyrant Hippocrates of Gela whose successor, Gelon, transferred his seat of government to Syracuse in 485. Thereafter, Leontini usually remained within the Syracusan sphere of influence, though its 5th century coinage was on a considerable scale attesting the independent wealth of the community. A major political change took place in the late 460s — the expulsion of the tyrants and the restoration of democracy. This was reflected on the Leontine coinage by the introduction of new types featuring the head of Apollo on obverse and a lion’s head on reverse. Apollo was especially revered at Leontini, as he was at the mother city of Naxos where there was a famous sanctuary of Apollo Archegetes. The lion apparently represents a punning allusion to the city name. The surrounding barley-grains are indicative of the exceptional fertility of the Leontine territory and doubtless refer to the local worship of Demeter, the goddess of agriculture. Description
Near EF
Grade
2876.25 EUR
Starting
4793.75 EUR
Estimate
EUR
Realized