Among the Finest Known
ISLANDS off CARIA, Kos. Circa 285-258 BC. AR Tetradrachm (28mm, 14.85 g, 12h). Xanthippos, magistrate. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin / Crab; K-ΩIO-N across upper field, XANΘIΠΠOΣ and bow-in-bow case below; all within dotted square border. Requier 62 (D11/R52); SNG Copenhagen –; Boston MFA Supp. 195 (same obv. die). Choice EF, lightly toned. Amongst the finest known. Struck on a broad flan with excellent metal.
Ex Patrick H.C. Tan Collection (Classical Numismatic Group 84, 5 May 2010), lot 651; Gorny & Mosch 146 (6 March 2006), lot 249.
The island of Kos attained the zenith of its prosperity during the Hellenistic era, when it was a valued ally of the Ptolemies, who used its port as a naval base. This alliance also contributed to cultural aspects of the island. As a seat of learning, it arose as a provincial branch of the museum of Alexandria, and became a favorite resort for the education of the princes of the Ptolemaic dynasty. Among its most famous residents were the physician Hippokrates, the painter Apelles, the elegaic poet Philitas, and, possibly, the pastoral poet Theokritos.
The Hellenistic tetradrachms of Kos can be, when they are not badly struck or corroded the way so many are, remarkably attractive. The heads of Herakles they bear are of great elegance, reminiscent of those struck on Alexandrine issues of Ptolemy I, as well as those on the much earlier tetradrachms struck by Kamarina (cf. SNG Lloyd 871 or Kunstfreund 84). On the reverse is a crab accompanying Herakles’ bowcase. The crab was an ally of Herakles in Koan myth, but exactly why is unknown. This piece, perfectly centered and struck from fresh dies on a broad flan of excellent metal, is among the epitome of the pieces remaining today.
