LYDIA. Uncertain. Aia..., circa 450-400 BC. Tetartemorion (Silver, 7 mm, 0.31 g, 11 h). Head of Athena to right, wearing crested Attic helmet. Rev. 𐤠𐤦𐤠 ('aia' in Lydian) Eagle standing right with closed wings; all within dotted square within incuse square. Cf. CNG E-Auction 318 (2014), 245 var. (anepigraphic) and corr. ('dynasts of Lycia'). Naumann 77 (2019), 271 corr. (as 'dynasts of Lycia' and legend not noted). Peus 427 (2020), 321 var. (hemitetartemorion with eagle to left and a longer legend) and corr. (legend misread as 'lykisch oder aramäisch'). Extremely rare and of great interest. Lightly toned and beautifully struck, a very charming coin. Minor edge crack, otherwise, good very fine.

This beautiful little coin offers, for the first time, a clear reading of the legend on this issue, which was previously either overlooked or misread. In light of the discovery of small silver coins from western Asia Minor with Lydian legends (see the very interesting coin of Ifes in Leu Web Auction 15 (2021), 502), there can be little doubt that 'AIA' on the reverse of our coin is not Greek, but composed of the Lydian letters 𐤠𐤦𐤠. This is likely the beginning of a personal name Aia... rather than an ethnic, but we do not know much about Lydian names and thus cannot expand it with any certainty. It is worth noting, however, that foreign names often get absorbed when cultures intermix (which is why this cataloguer's first name is 'scandinavized' Latin, even though he was born neither in Scandinavia nor in Italy); thus, as a wild guess, Aia... perhaps even bore the Greek name Aias (modern Ajax)