THRACO-MACEDONIAN REGION. Uncertain . 480-450 BC. Tetartemorion (Silver, 7 mm, 0.23 g). Monkey squatting to left. Rev. Round shield within incuse square. AMNG -. SNG Copenhagen -. Apparently unpublished except from A. Tzamalis, Nonismatika Khronika 17 (1998) no 67. Well struck, clear and well centered; a very rare coin. Nearly very fine.

Ex Lanz 154, 11 June 2012, 40 (realized 800 EUR) .

Monkeys are known to have appeared in Greek art, very possibly taken from living models (like the Blue Monkeys - Cercopithecus Mitis - which appear in frescoes from Akrotiri on Thera). While the temperature range found in the Thraco-Macedonian region in ancient times probably precludes the existence of a population of native monkeys, they may well have arrived as either pets or ritual animals, thence to be used as a coin type.