GREEK. MYSIA. Lampsakos. 4th-3rd centuries BC. Silver Diobol (1.41g). Janiform female head / Helmeted head of Athena right within incuse square. SNG BN 1195-6. Lightly toned. VF for the type. This graceful silver diobol comes from Lampsakos, a wealthy and artistically sophisticated Ionian city on the Hellespont whose coinage is famed for its originality. The remarkable janiform female head, with its perfectly balanced twin profiles, distils both religious symbolism and the engraver's mastery into a tiny flan, turning a small fractional into a true miniature work of art. Elegant, rare and visually arresting, it encapsulates how a prosperous coastal polis expressed identity and piety through its finest silver. (P)

Estimate: AUD 500