★ A Beautiful Stater of Neapolis ★

Campania, Neapolis AR Stater. Circa 300-275 BC. Diademed head of Parthenope to right, X behind / Man-headed bull walking to right; Nike flying above to right, crowning bull's head with wreath; Θ below, [ΝΕΑ]ΠΟΛΙΤΩΝ on raised exergual line. Sambon 476; HN Italy 579; SNG ANS 367 (same dies); HGC 1, 453. 7.42g, 18mm, 6h.

Good Extremely Fine; beautiful iridescent cabinet tone.

Ex Münzauktion Tkalec & Rauch AG (Zurich), 15 April 1985, lot 9.

Originally founded as Parthenope in the seventh or sixth century BC by Euboians from the nearby settlement of Kyme (Cumae), the city was named after the siren said to have washed ashore at Megaride after throwing herself into the sea when she failed to bewitch Odysseus with her song. Etruscan aggression in the centuries following the founding of Parthenope stymied its economic development to the extent that by the mid 5th century, the settlement had virtually ceased to exist. As Etruscan influence waned however, the area was occupied by settlers from Kyme who refounded the city somewhat further inland as Neapolis (new city). The original Parthenope came to be known as Palaipolis (old city), though the two quickly merged into a single entity.