Description
Italy. Bruttium. Lokroi Epizephyrioi. Nomos, ca. 340-330 BC. Silver 7.79 g.; 20.3 mm.
Obverse: Laureate head of Zeus on the left. Obverse caption: ΛOKΡON //
Reverse: Eagle with wings spread, attacking a hare on the left; behind, a thunderbolt in the field; between the hare and the eagle's tail, a reversed N.
SNG-ANS 525.
Superb specimen for a very rare coinage and type! Same die as the Jameson collection (no. 443) with the N reversed, this type is extremely rare. Almost uncirculated AU 55-58
Comment
It is thought to have been struck during the campaign in Magna Graecia of Alexander I, uncle of Alexander III the Great, when he allied himself with the city of Tarentum to campaign in southern Italy. The absolutely magnificent portrait depicts Zeus and is said to have been inspired by the statue of Zeus in the temple dedicated to him in Locres. The reverse is also inspired by the coinage of Agrigento, with a superb eagle hunting, according to J.P. Babelon.
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