Athena / Octopus
Alontion (Sicily) - Tetras (⅓ Litra)
Description
Obverse: Head of Athena facing left, wearing Chalkidian helmet; star of six rays to left
Reverse: Octopus
Oh boy I thought I paid way too much for this when I initially bought it at $1600, as I just threw out a bid of $2000 expecting it to go nowhere near that at the price at the time was only $200. Instead it shot up all the way to $1600. I didn't know what was special about this type as it just seemed like a normal bronze coin, but the reason why it was valued so highly (by at-least another person) is that there are lot of fakes of this type. This specific example having been in the David Freedman Collection and John Morcom Collection makes it one of the few actually real ones. For a discussion on the fakes see https://www.lamoneta.it/topic/128135-alontion-tetras/
Details
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Composition | Bronze |
| Issuer | Alontion |
| Ruling Authority | Unknown |
| Period of Issue | 409 BC - 406 BC |
| Weight | 6.71 g |
| Diameter | 18 mm |
| Orientation | ↑↑ 9h |
| Denomination | 1 Tetras |
| Standard | Sicilian Litra |
| References | CNS I #1; HGC 2 #211; Campana #1B |
Provenance
| Location | Description | Date |
|---|---|---|
| United States | David Freedman Collection | - |
| United States | Classical Numismatic Group, Triton V - Lot 140 | Jan 15, 2001 |
| United States | John Morcom Collection of Western Greek Bronzes | - |
| United States | Classical Numismatic Group, Electronic Auction 572 - Lot 82 | Oct 9, 2024 |
| United States | Lelouch Collection | Current |