Description: Archaios Numismatics Description: Greek Bronze coin from Mytiline on the Island of Lesbos. circa 3rd to 2nd Century BC. Obverse: Diademed head of young un-bearded male, Apollo Karneios (or alternately a young zeus ammon) wearing a ram or goat horn. Reverse: Facing cult statue (herm) of Dionysos; ethnic M - Y / T - I around on two lines; monogram to lower left; ivy leaf to lower right Mint: Methymna, Lesbos Size: 16 mm Weight: 4.14 g Ref: SNG Copenhagen 390; Condition: VF. A Very Rare and interesting type. Bronzes of Lesbos are not common to begin with but this type is certainly one rarely seen at auction in the past 20 years. I have found only two of the general type with the unbearded male (neither with the Ivy leaf control or matching monogram). Please use the Pictures as your judge as grading is subjective. Inventory #: 1909.36.11 Provenance: ex-CNG 451,624 pt --> Notes: Lesbos was an important island of the ancient Greek world located off the coast of western Anatolia opposite Aiolis. It was the most famous of the twelve Aiolian cities listed by Herodotos that corresponded to the poleis of Ionia (others of which were: Pitane, Elaia, Gryneion, Myrina, Aigai, Kyme, Neonteichos, Temnos, Larisa and Smyrna). During the 7th century BC, there was an immigration from cities of Lesobs, particularly Mytilene and Methymna, to Asia Minor on the eastern shores of the Aegean.. As the area's primary concern was agriculture, it did not play a large role in historical developments, however it was extremely important in the fields of music and poetry. Sappho, Alkaios and Terpander, the inventor of the 7-tone scale were all from Lesbos. Lesbos is particularly famous for its experiment in using for coins metals like electrum (mixture of gold and silver) and billon (mixture of silver and other base alloys), which is thought to be the first such attempt to manipulate the purity of coin metals not only in Asia Minor but the entire Greek world. The Billon coinage has not been nearly as well studies as the electrum issues and not much archaeology has yet been done on Lesbos to help nail down the minting details of these coins. Apollo Karneios was a surname of Apollo under which he was worshipped in various parts of Greece, especially in Peloponnesus, as at Sparta and Sicyon, and also in Thera, Cyrene, and Magna Graecia. (Paus. iii. 13. § 2, &c., ii. 10. § 2, 11. § 2; Pind. Pyth. v. 106; Plut. Sympos. viii. 1; Paus. iii. 24. § 5, iv. 31. § 1, 33. § 5.). The origin of the name is explained in different ways. Some derived it from Karnus, an Akarnanian soothsayer, whose murder by Hippotes provoked Apollo to send a plague into the army of Ilippotes while he was on his march to Peloponnesus. Apollo was afterwards propitiated by the introduction of the worship of Apollo Karneius. Others believed that Apollo was thus called from his favourite Karnus or Karneius, a son of Zeus and Europa, whom Leto and Apollo had brought up. . It is evident, however, that the worship of the Karneian Apollo was very ancient, and was probably established in Peloponnesus even before the Dorian conquest. Three is also a autumn festival of the Karneia that is thought to be tied to Apollo Karneios. The horns and tie ins to grapes and the harvest make it seem clear that the incarnation of Apollon is tied to the harvest. Various excerpts from Head Hist. Num, and Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia We Thank You for stopping in and taking time to look at and bid on our listings. Good Luck Bidding ! We encourage you to click the "See other items" link above in the "Seller Information" area of the listing as well to check out our other items posted. We have a variety of great classical and other ancient numismatic items available. We will be regularly continuing to post for sale and auction a wide variety of Ancient Roman, Greek, and Eastern coins as well as Medieval, Byzantine, and some Modern coins as well. You can also follow us to be notified when new listings are posted. With over 20 years in the numismatics hobby we continue to revel in the excitement that comes from holding each new small piece of history in our hands. We enjoy the enduring sense of history both of the prior uses and users as well as the creativity and necessity that surround the time and place at which these coins were minted and used in circulation. Our aim is to cater not just to the high end collector but also to the hobbyist and the newly initiated and those on a limited budget. Everyone starts the hobby somewhere and where we can share our knowledge to help inform or jumpstart your collecting pleasure we will aim to do so. We want you to love every purchase you make with us and we always stand by the quality and authenticity of all the coins we are selling.
Price: 250 USD
Location: Seattle, Washington
End Time: 2024-08-11T20:48:20.000Z
Shipping Cost: 3 USD
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Item Specifics
Restocking Fee: No
Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 30 Days
Refund will be given as: Money Back
Composition: Bronze
Era: Ancient
Historical Period: Greek (450 BC-100 AD)
