MACEDON. Akanthos. Circa 440-430 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 31 mm, 17.24 g). Lion right, attacking a bull collapsing to left with head raised; in exergue, tunny swimming to left. Rev. AKA-N-ΘIO-N Raised quadripartite square with granulated recesses and surrounded by inscription; all within shallow incuse square. AMNG III, 2, -. Desneux - (-/R90). HGC 3.1, 385. Künker 416 (2024), 1129 (same dies). SNG ANS -. Triton XXIII (2020), 187 (same dies). Lightly toned and exceptionally sharp, a beautiful piece. Very light doubling on the obverse and minor weakness and tiny scratches on the reverse, otherwise, good extremely fine.

Akanthos lay on the eastern shore of Chalkidiki, near the narrowest point of the Athos peninsula. Reportedly founded by colonists from Andros in 655 BC, the city’s wealth derived not only from the export of agricultural goods and timber from nearby forests, but also from silver mined in the Thraco-Macedonian hinterland. Its coinage was substantial: Archaic and Classical tetradrachms from Akanthos have been found as far afield as Sicily, Egypt, and Persia, suggesting that many were exported as coined bullion rather than used as currency