ASIA MINOR. Uncertain. Circa 450-400 BC. Obol (Silver, 11 mm, 0.86 g, 3 h). Forepart of a bull to left; behind, dolphin swimming downward. Rev. Crab within incuse square. CNG E-Auction 344 (2015), 131 var. (with uncertain legend above the bull). Naumann 80 (2019), 10 var. (hemiobol). Rosen -. SNG Kayhan -. SNG von Aulock -. Apparently unpublished. A beautiful piece with incredibly charming imagery. Light roughness and some minor edge cracks, otherwise, extremely fine.


Exactly where this charming little obol was struck is unclear. The CNG cataloguer suggested reading the legend on his piece as [...]AΠI(?), although it looks more like [...]API[...] to this author. Either way, this does not provide much help, all the more as our example clearly lacks any inscription. The three coins likely originate from western or southwestern Asia Minor, where bulls, crabs and dolphins frequently appear on coins, albeit never in this combination. It is worth noting that the placing of the dolphin at the truncation of the bull protome may very well derive from Kyzikene prototypes, with the dolphin replacing the tunny, whereas the crab is reminiscent of the coinage from the island of Kos.