I was recently able to add this coin to my
collection. I'll describe it as I see it and then discuss.
Didrachm, Miletus, about 410 BC
Obv. Lion's
head or
protome with open jaws to the left
Rev. M-(I) / (Λ)-H / Σ-(I) / Ω-N
Milesian-style floral or stellar
ornament15.5 to 19.5 mm, 6.59 g
This coin was offered as an unpublished half-stater of Hekatomnos, with the letters M-N-Ω, running from 11 to 8 o'clock, being
part of
his name retrograde. But the "normal" N in a retrograde
legend would be odd, and the letters H and Σ at 4 and 5 o'clock are clear, and clearly not
part of
his name. Also, Hekatomnos' "
lion and flower" coins bear the name, usually as EKA, above the lion's snout; and while the
obverse is off-center, so we don't know whether it's a
head or a
protome, we see very clearly there is no EKA. Plus, most Hekatomnos coins have a circular
incuse, and slimmer floral patterns.
The coin equals the third-century didrachms of Miletus in
weight, and has six times the
weight of the common archaic "diobols" or twelfth-staters. The
style of the lion's
head places it quite later than the diobols, so when could it have been struck? Miletus was a member of the Delian League; in 454 or 453,
Athens forbade the other
members to strike their own coinage. The League crumbled apart when
Athens lost the Peloponnesian War, so striking could have resumed about 410 BC. To my mediocrily-trained eyes, the
style of the
head looks more like 410 than like 454 BC.
I'm eagerly awaiting your opinions about this coin.
Best regards,
Rupert