THRACIAN ISLANDS. Thasos. Ca. 500-450 BC. AR stater (21mm, 9.14 gm). NGC Choice VF 5/5 - 5/5. Nude ithyphallic satyr running right, carrying nymph, her right hand raised / Quadripartite incuse square. SNG Copenhagen 1010-1011. Dewing 1323. Le Rider 5. Iridescent hues in the fields create a dynamism to the complex obverse design. Ex Sagalassos Ancient coins; the RCM Collection (Classical Numismatic Auction, Electronic Auction 294, 16 January 2013), lot 260; Gorny & Mosch, Auction 141 (10 October 2005), 78. The iconography of these coins is sometimes described as a satyr ravishing a nymph. Given the importance of the cult of Dionysus to Thrace, a more likely explanation is that the two mythological figures are engaged in a ritualistic Dionysian dance. HID09801242017 © 2023 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

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