Lot 6
Bruttium. Rhegium, c. 320 BC. AR Tetradrachm (17.31 g). Laureate head of Apollo left; ethnic at left. Reverse: Facing head of lion, eyes looking to left. Basel 229; Herzfelder 115; SNG ANS 676. Boldly struck and lustrous. One of the finest known examples, and one of the notables of Magna Graecian coin art. Rare. NGC graded Uncirculated.
While the earlier coins of Rhegium clearly show the lion's head as the obverse, this later issue is an exception. In ancient numismatics we judge which side of the coin was struck by the lower (or anvil) die, and call that side the obverse. The minting process left the upper die, or reverse, with a concave appearance, but gave the obverse a certain convexity. Therefore, it doesn't matter which side shows a "head"; the distinction between obverse and reverse lies with the position of the dies.
Estimated Value $35,000 - 40,000.
Illustrated in Money of the World, coin 14.
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| Realized $120,750 |
