Thrace, Maroneia, Tetradrachm ca. 436-410 BC

According to reference books and databases, this Tetradrachm is a unique coin. Indeed, Schönert-Geiss gives only one reference for this type, a coin from the Fenerly Bey collection, specifying ‘nicht bei Egger’ (not at Egger), to signify that it was not included in the Brüder Egger catalogue at the 1912 sale. Illustrated in this book under no. 91 and in the Corpus Nummorum under type no. 731 (coin no. 2368), a mould is used in each case. This cast matches our example, showing the very ancient pedigree of this Tetradrachm, and above all the prestige it acquires through the name of the collection to which it belonged. Many coins from this collection, sold in 1912, were subsequently acquired by other prestigious collections.

This Tetradrachm, however, had never been seen again before the publication of the work by E. Schönert-Geiss, who had access to this plaster model as a member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences, where it is held. With no trace in the digital sales archives, we assume that the coin has been transmitted between one or more private collectors since 1912 without going through auctions.

Minted in Maroneia, in ancient Thrace, still in Greece today, in the region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, the iconography of the coin is perfectly representative of the city, situated on high grounds facing the Aegean Sea. On the observe, the name of the city is indicated by ‘ΜΑΡΩΝ’. Then, the galloping horse could be a reminder of the region's tradition and beliefs in the ‘Thracian horseman’, a hero and deity worshipped by the inhabitants throughout the ancient period. However, it could also be a reminder of the myth of the meat-eating mares of Diomedes, King of Thrace, which Herakles was charged with bringing back to King Eurystheus for the eighth of his twelve labours. Above the horse, the kantharos, a ceramic vase used for drinking wine, is a subtle reference to the reverse, and to the city's attachment to the god Dionysus, who, according to certain myths, created the vase. The reverse side, for its part, is much more closely associated with the city, which was a major producer of wine in ancient times renowned throughout the Greek world for its nectar-like aromas. According to its foundation myth, Maron was the founder of the city, a priest of Apollo who was nicknamed the ‘hero of sweet wine’. According to some versions, he was a son of Dionysus and a member of his Dionysian procession, already evoked by the kantharos. The importance of the connection between the city and the god was such that over the years, and even over the centuries, the god and his symbols were represented on the coins, and we know that he was venerated there, as can be seen today in the ruins of the sanctuary dedicated to him.

An exceptional coin in terms of its exceptional rarity and its provenance, whether minted or a collector's item, and worthy of the greatest collections of Greek coins! HGC 3.2, 1526; CN Type 731 & CN Coin 2368 (this example); Schönert-Geiss 91, V5/R6 (this example).