Interesting Imitation

351, Lot: 77. Estimate $100. Sold for $220. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

KINGS of THRACE, Macedonian. Lysimachos. 305-281 BC. AR Drachm (18mm, 3.39 g, 11h). Celtic imitation of Ainos mint obverse and Pella mint reverse. Struck circa 370s BC. Diademed head of the deified Alexander right, with horn of Ammon / Athena Nikephoros seated left, left arm resting on shield, transverse spear in background; HP monogram to inner left. Cf. Thompson 247 (tetradrachm, Pella); cf. Müller 348 (same). Fine, toned, test cut, a few tiny deposits, scratches on reverse. Unpublished.

From the Nicholas Sicurella Collection.

Although this issue appears to be a previously unknown drachm that accompanied the tetradrachms of Thompson 247, the style of the hair on the obverse, with its unusual split behind the neck, is an exact match with obverses used for tetradrachms at Ainos (cf. CNG E-322, lot 105 and Fischer-Bossert, Lysimacheier C1–8, esp. C7). Shortly after the death of Lysimachos, in 279 BC, the region around both Pella and Ainos were taken in the great Celtic invasions, and numerous ‘Celtic’ imitations were made during this time. It is therefore more likely that an an obverse die was made copying a tetradrachm from Ainos, while the reverse die was made copying a tetradrachm of Pella. The test cut also lends credence to this theory, as it shows that the coin circulated in the “hinterlands.”