UNCERTAIN. Herakleia. Circa 2nd to 1st centuries BC. AE (Bronze, 15 mm, 3.55 g, 12 h). Head of Artemis to right, with bow and quiver over shoulder. Rev. HPA-ΚΛЄ Herakles standing front, head to left, leaning right on club and holding lion's skin over his left arm. Apparently unpublished. Very fine.


This enigmatic coin was ascribed to Herakleia in Illyria in the Solidus auction, an attribution that was copied in the Obolos sale. However, the types are unlike anything we know from the Illyrian Herakleia, and style and fabric are certainly much later than the proposed dating to the fourth century BC. Perhaps it was struck under Roman rule, or it comes from a different Herakleia altogether.