Wappenmünzen

807021.

Sold For $1750

ATTICA, Athens. Circa 561-546 BC. AR Hemiobol (6mm, 0.31 g). “Wappenmünzen” series. Apple / Incuse punch. Seltman group D, pl. IV, ζζ; Svoronos Monnaies pl. 1, 44; Asyut -; SNG Copenhagen -. VF, toned. Rare.

Ex Künker 94 (28 September 2004), lot 824.

"Wappenmünzen" ("Blazon money") is a German term used to describe the earliest coinage of Athens. Although modern scholars have convincingly demonstrated that Seltman's hypothesis that Wappenmünzen types represent the coats-of-arms of Athens' leading families is incorrect, numismatic cataloguers have been hard-pressed to find a more suitable designation to describe the series.