★ A very rare Third Stater from the island of Kythnos ★

CYCLADES, Kythnos. Circa 475-460 BC. Tetrobol or Third Stater (Silver, 16 mm, 3.93 g). Head of a boar to right. Rev. Rough quadripartite incuse square. Kyrou & Artemis pl. 51, 1-29. McClean 8859 and pl. 314, 2. Sheedy series III, pl. 4, 30-1 var. (unlisted dies). Very rare and lightly toned. Struck from a slightly worn obverse die and with light porosity, otherwise, very fine.

From the collection of Dr. med. Cora Flinsch (1920-2022), ex Sternberg XVI, 15-16 May 1985, 155. Kythnos is one of the smaller Cycladic islands, guarding the entrance to the Saronic Gulf. It is unique in that it was originally populated by the pre-Greek Dryopians. The early coinage of Kythnos consists of drachms and tetrobols weighing 4 g, along with some fractional pieces, all of which feature a boar's head facing right on the obverse. Although these coins have been known since the 19th century, their origin was only uncovered through a hoard discovered on Kythnos in 1976, as well as subsequent finds on the island