LOT #32004 |
Current Bid: $1,500
Greek: SICILY. Messana. Ca. 425-413 BC. AR tetradrachm (25mm, 17.23 gm, 8h). NGC Choice VF 5/5 - 3/5, Fine Style, brus...
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Description
Fine Style Messana Issue
SICILY. Messana. Ca. 425-413 BC. AR tetradrachm (25mm, 17.23 gm,
8h). NGC Choice VF 5/5 - 3/5, Fine Style, brushed. Nymph
Messana driving biga of mules walking right; Nike walking right on
reigns to crown mules with wreath, olive leaf and berry in exergue
/ ΜΕΣ-Σ-Α-Ν-ΙΟ-Ν, hare springing right; dolphin leaping right
below. SNG ANS 358-359. SNG Lloyd 1095. Smoothly defined animal
portraiture.Ex David P. Herman, private sale with old dealer's tag included.
The coins of Greek Sicily abound with symbolism, the meaning of which is not always obvious to the modern observer. Messana, located on the northwest corner of Sicily and the third most populous city on the island, chose as its civic badges a chariot pulled by a pair of mules (biga) and a leaping hare. On this pleasing tetradrachm, the mule biga is driven by a woman, most likely the nymph Messana, while the hare springs over a similarly leaping dolphin. As to what it all means, we can surmise as follows: In 484 or 480 BC, a mule team from Messana won the Olympic Games in the event known as the anape (mule biga race); naturally, civic pride prompted the Messenians to advertise the victory on their coinage. The hare is an animal sacred to the god Pan, who had a temple in Messana and was widely worshipped there. The dolphin below the hare harks back to the original name of Messana, Zankle ("sickle"), so named for it's crescent-shaped harbor, of which the leaping dolphin's arched shape became a visual allegory.
Auction Info
2025 November 6 - 7 World & Ancient Coins Platinum Session and Signature® Auction #3126 (go to Auction Home page)
Proxy Bidding Ends
November
7th
Friday
9:50 am CT
Auction Dates
November
6th-7th
Thursday-Friday
Proxy Bidding Time Remaining
15 Days
7h 8m 36s
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This lot is in: 3 -
Signature® Internet Session - No Floor or Phone Bidding (Mail, Fax, Internet, and Heritage Live):
(Lots 32001-32117) - 10:00 AM Central Time, Friday, November 7, 2025.
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