‡ Italy, Lucania, Poseidonia, stater, c. 410-350 BC, ΠΟΣΕΙΔΑΝ, Poseidon, naked but for chlamys over both shoulders striding right hurling trident; in field left, dolphin diving right, rev., ΠΟΣΕΙΔΑΝΙ, bull walking left on double line; in ex.,dolphin left, 8.14g, die axis 10.00 (Kraay, Poseidonia (1967) p. 119, 2i = Gillet, private catalogue pl. 11, 211, this piece; BMC 40; SNG Cop 1293; SNG Lloyd 441; C.M. Kraay, ‘Two late fifth Century BC hoards from South Italy’, SNR 49, 1970, pl. 10, 18, all from the same dies; HN Italy 1129), of lovely style, beautifully toned and extremely fine, very rare Provenance: Sotheby’s, ‘A Well Known Cabinet’ (J.R. McClean), 21 April 1909, lot 45; Rev. Percy Barron collection, J. Hirsch XXX, 11 May 1911, lot 211; Charles Gillet collection; “Kunstfreund” Bank Leu & Münzen und Medaillen, 28 May 1974, lot 67; Tradart, Geneva, 12 December 1991, lot 19; European Connoisseur collection (formed before 2002).Note: It has been proposed that the appearance of the bull as a reverse type was due to an influx of refugees from Sybaris in the mid-fifth century; here it stands on a stepped exergual line which suggests it may represent a statue on a pedestal. Poseidonia itself was under threat from the inland Lucanians who seized the city in about 410 BC. This coin, struck from a particularly elegant pair of dies, straddles the pre and post Lucanian conquest. Kraay has noted that this reverse die (ACGC 657) was first employed for the series of pre-conquest lettered dies (c. 420-410 BC) and then reused after the capture with the addition of the dolphin in the exergue.

Estimate: GBP 20000-30000