KINGS OF LYDIA. Alyattes, circa 610-560 BC. Myshemihekte – 1/24 Stater (Electrum, 6 mm, 0.59 g), Lydo-Milesian standard, Sardes or subsidiary mint. [𐤠𐤩[𐤰𐤠 ('al[ua]' in Lydian) Head of a roaring lion with sun on its forehead to right; punctate background. Rev. Incuse square punch. Cf. Nomos 3 (2011), 145 (same obverse die, but as a hemihekte). SNG Kayhan -. Weidauer -. Apparently unpublished. A lovely and well struck coin. About extremely fine.

This unpublished myshemihekte certainly belongs to the recently discovered tritai (Roma 3 (2012), 277, reappearing several times in subsequent sales) and Nomos 17 (2018), 188. Of particular interest is that our coin was struck from the same obverse die as the hemihekte in Nomos 3 (2011), 145, a rare use of the same die on different denominations (for another example, see Leu Web Auction 10 (2019), 311). Now that tritai, hemihektai and myshemihektai are known, one may expect the missing hekte to surface in the future. For a note on Alyattes, see the following lot 1285 below