‡ Italy, Bruttium, Rhegium, tetradrachm, c. 435-425 BC, lion’s head facing; to left, olive sprig, rev., ΡΕCΙΝΟΣ (retrograde), Iokastos, naked to the waist, seated left with crossed legs, holding staff with right hand, his left resting on stool; below, duck standing left; all within a laurel wreath, 17.26g, die axis 4.00 (Herzfelder 46, same dies; Boston 203, same dies; SNG ANS 638, same dies; Kraay-Hirmer 287 = Franke Hirmer 283, pl. 99, 283, same reverse die; HN Italy 2488), lightly toned, extremely fine and of fine transitional style Provenance: Hess-Leu 28, 5 May 1965, lot 43 (‘Prachtexemplar’); Bank Leu 48, 10 May 1989, lot 31 (enlarged pl. B); Tradart, Geneva, 8 November 1992, lot 25 (colour enlargement p. 15); European Connoisseur collection (formed before 2002).Note: Founded by Chalkis, c. 720 BC, Rhegion sat at the toe of Italy, on the Straits of Messina. Until 460 BC Rhegion’s coinage mirrors that of its cross-strait neighbour, Messana. The new coinage, as represented by this wonderful tetradrachm, portrays the gloweringly powerful facing head of a lion, while the reverse depicts the city’s mythical founder, Iokastos. His effigy, seated with crossed legs and his torso tensely turned in three-quarter view with his hand resting on the stool, is elegantly observed ‘and the sculptural quality at once suggests a real statue’ (Jenkins, AGC).

Estimate: GBP 15000-20000