★ An exceptional stater from Berge (?) from the collection of Prof. S. Pozzi, Naville I, 4 April 1921, 689 ★

THRACO-MACEDONIAN REGION. Berge (?). Circa 525-480 BC. Stater (Silver, 20 mm, 9.89 g). Ithyphallic satyr standing right, grasping right wrist of nymph fleeing to right with his right hand and supporting her chin with his left. Rev. Rough incuse square divided diagonally. AMNG III, 14 ('Lete'). Psoma p. 61 ('Berge'). SNG ANS 956 ('Lete'). Svoronos 16 and pl. VIII, 2 ( same obverse die ). Traité I, 1569 ('Lete'). An exceptional coin with a remarkable pedigree, beautifully toned and of powerful late Archaic style. Extremely fine.

Ex Leu 42, 12 May 1987, 169, from the property of a 'well-known collector', Schulman 248, 19 November 1968, 72, ex Münzen & Medaillen AG XIX, 5-6 June 1959, 375 and Ars Classica XVII, 3 October 1934, and from the collection of Prof. S. Pozzi, Naville I, 4 April 1921, 689.

Although traditionally assigned to Lete or Siris, S. Psoma reassigned this wonderful series to Berge in what later became the Thasian Peraia. The coins contain the satyr and nymph motive, a highly sexually charged design showing the ferocious and aroused satyr abusing the mannered nymph. Such images of wilderness clashing with civilization were especially popular in frontier regions such as the Thraco-Macedonian coast, where Greek apoikiai came into close contact with the native 'barbarian' tribes.