Description
Sicily. The Carthaginians. Tetradrachm ca. 350-320 BC, Sicilian mint. Silver 17.06 g.; 25.8 mm.
Obverse: Head of Arethousa left, wearing wreath of grain ears, triple-pendant earring, and pearl necklace; four dolphins swimming around, three turned inward, the one below the neck truncation outwards //
Reverse: Horse leaping or prancing left; palm tree in central background.
Magnificent Siculo-Punic Tetradrachm with an extremely rare type. Scratch before the forelegs on the reverse. It is adorned with a magnificent golden patina around the reliefs.
The engraving is highly skilled and precise, especially the palm tree, whose leaves have superb details.
Almost uncirculated AU 55-58
Provenance Details
Ex Vinchon, 17 November 1990, lot 9.
Faune d'Argent Collection.
Comment
The most remarkable aspect of this coin is the obverse with its four perfectly visible dolphins. It is extremely rare to find all four of them on those types with the divinity crowned with a wreath of grain ears.
Jenkins, Punic, Part 3, Serie 2d, 141 (O46/R127); CNP 214; HGC 2, 283; SNG Fitzwilliam 1477 = Weber 1773 (same obv. die); SNG Lockett 1036 = Locker-Lampson 115 (same obv. die); Boston MFA 489 (same obv. die); Gulbenkian 365 (same obv. die); de Luynes 1434 (same dies) and SNG France 2358-59 (same dies).
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