IONIAN ISLANDS. Samos. Ca. 600-550 BC. EL hemistater (17mm, 8.72 gm). NGC AU 5/5 - 5/5. Euboic-Samian standard. Rough surface with irregular markings / Two punches, one square and one a vertical rectangle. Koray Konuk, Electrum, Type 1, plate 2, B = SNG Kayhan 628. cf. Linzalone LN1060 (stater). Very rare and certainly one of the earliest known coinages. Bright and lustrous with hints of orange toning. Very attractive example in hand. This issue is usually described with an obverse as amorphous or random, however on this example it appears as though clear effort was made to create a central mirrored design of three segments with a large central globule termination, perhaps being two lion paws or a conjoined archaic predecessor of the facing lion scalp, a motif that was used by Samos for centuries. There is a beautiful electrum hecte issue from Samos (ca. 600-570 BC) which shows the head of a lioness or panther facing, surrounded by a field of rough marks, and perhaps this series was minted before that clear type, or perhaps contemporary with it, and the design on this hemistater is an as of yet undetermined lion motif.

HID09801242017

To the auctioneer's website