LESBOS
MYTILENE. Septimius Severus, 193-211. Æs, Strategos Artemon; 51,38 g. 44 mm.
O. ΑΥΤΟ ΚΑΙ Λ ϹΕΠ ϹΕΟΥΗΡΟϹ ΠΕΡΤΙΝΑΞ [ ]
laureate and cuirassed bust of Septimius Severus, right, seen from front, with gorgoneion on cuirass.
R. ΕΠΙ ϹΤΡΑ ΑΡΤΕΜΩΝΟϹ ΤΟΥ ϹΕΚΟΥΝΔΟΥ [ ], ΜΥΤΙΛΗΝ
Tyche of Mytilene seated left, holding patera and Dionaysic term
RPC online ID 285 (unassigned).
Of the utmost rarity
Acquired in May 1995 from the Javorschek coin dealership, Munich.
This piece is exceptionally rare; the RPC online lists only the specimen in the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
Whether the object in Tyche’s left arm is a Dionysian herm or the Xoanon described by Pausanias (10.19.3), which fishermen in Methymna pulled from the sea, is a matter of debate.
Kunker Auction 433, Lot 9082, 2025, 1152 pc
