Unpublished Lysimachos Tetradrachm

323, Lot: 36. Estimate $300. Sold for $1100. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

KINGS of THRACE, Macedonian. Lysimachos. 305-281 BC. AR Tetradrachm (29mm, 16.61 g, 5h). Pella or Amphipolis mint. Struck circa 286/5-282/1 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; pentagram above AP monogram to inner left, [head of lion left in exergue]. Gorny & Mosch 142, lot 1292; Rauch 90, lot 68 = Lanz 141, lot 87; Künker 124, lot 7904; Rauch 76, lot 308 (all from the same dies). EF, struck from a re-engraved obverse die, hairline scratches on Alexander’s cheek.

From the Demetrios Armounta Collection. Ex Lanz 123 (30 May 2005), lot 151.

Although unpublished, the spiral lock of hair below the ear is commonly seen on obverse dies used on Thompson issues 202–212 at Amphipolis. In fact, the style of these dies are so similar that it suggests a single die engraver was responsible for these. It is very likely that this engraver, or a student of his, also operated at Pella, as this spiral lock feature is visible on some of the latest issues there, Thompson 253–255. The monogram here is the same as that on Thompson 253, and some examples have the spiral lock on the obverse: cf. Birkler & Waddell 2, lot 117, and Ars Classica XII, lot 1270. This control mark similarity suggests this coin would more likely belong to the spiral lock group at Pella, but it is also possible that it is from Amphipolis.