MACEDON. Acanthus. Ca. 470-430 BC. AR tetradrachm (29mm, 16.84 gm, 3h). NGC Choice AU 5/5 - 4/5, Fine Style. Lion with long curved tail springing right, biting into hind quarters of bull kneeling to left with head raised; tunny fish left in exergue, thick beaded border / ΑΚΑ-Ν-ΘΙΟ-Ν, ethnic in raised letters on incuse band, around raised quadripartite square, all within shallow incuse square. Desneux 99 (same dies). HGC 3.1, 385. Rainbow surfaces that glitter stunningly and complement the bold strike of this exceptional Fine Style specimen. Acanthus was a city situated on the western shore of the Chalcidice Peninsula, near the entrance to the Athos Peninsula. Founded as a Greek colony in the 7th century BC by settlers from the Greek city of Andrus, its location along the coastline and its proximity to a silver mine made it strategically important for maritime trade and defense. Of the Archaic Greek coinages, the imagery of Acanthus is among the most striking and influential, depicting a lion attacking a bull, a motif soon adopted by several other cities. Lions prowled the hinterlands of Thrace and Macedon in this era and Herodotus recounts an episode when the baggage train of the Persian King Xerxes's army was set upon by lions during its march from Asia Minor into Greece proper. HID09801242017 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

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