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ISLANDS off CARIA, Rhodos. Rhodes. Circa 229-205 BC. AR Tetradrachm (24.5mm, 13.54 g, 11h). Tharsytas, magistrate. Radiate head of Helios facing slightly right / Rose with bud to right; to left, eagle standing right, wings spread, on torch. Ashton 215; HGC 6, 1432. Toned, minor flan flaw on obverse, light doubling on reverse. Near EF. Well centered.
Ex The Numismatic Auction 1 (13 December 1982), lot 123.
The city of Rhodes on its eponymous island was a relatively late foundation, formed in 408 BC by the union of Ialysos, Kamiros, and Lindos. Its strategic position on an island between Europe and Asia Minor assured its prosperity and growing importance as a naval power. In 305 BC, Rhodes allied itself with Ptolemy I of Egypt against Antigonos I and his son, Demetrios, who quickly attacked the city and placed it under siege. Despite employing the most imposing artillery and siege engines yet seen, Demetrios was forced to give up the siege by the timely arrival of a relief force sent by Ptolemy. The Rhodians sold off the abandoned siege equipment for 300 talents, and used the money to build a gigantic statue of the city’s patron god, Apollo-Helios. Designed by the brilliant sculptor Chares of Lindos, the statue was composed of bronze plates attacked to an iron frame and stood 98 feet tall atop a 50-foot base. The head of Helios was topped by a crown of sunbeams, an image replicated on the famous coins of Rhodes, including the example seen here. Alas, a powerful earthquake struck Rhodes in 226 BC, about the time this tetradrachm was struck, and toppled the Colossus, the huge statue breaking at the knees. An oracle warned the citizens of Rhodes not to rebuild it, and the Colossus lay in ruins, still a popular tourist attraction, until it was sold for scrap and carted off in AD 654.
The final winners of all CNG Feature Auction 129 lots will be determined during the live online sale that will be held on 13-14 May 2025. This lot is in Session One, which will begin 13 May at 9 AM ET.
Winning bids are subject to a 22.5% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 25% for all others.
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