CRETE. Uncertain. 4th to early 3rd century BC. Hemidrachm (Silver, 14 mm, 2.89 g, 10 h). Head and neck of a bull to right.
Rev. Λ-O-[.] (?) Head of a nymph to right, her hair bound up; all within shallow round incuse. Le Rider -. Svoronos -. Apparently unpublished. Some deposits
, otherwise, about very fine.
From the collection of the Hamburg-based Psychologist and Educational Scientist, Prof. Dr. Paul Probst and from the collection of Dr. Hartmann, Dorotheum, 17 May 2017, 31.
This intriguing coin is almost certainly of Cretan origin, though the attribution to Polyrhenion - as proposed in the Dorotheum catalogue - is not especially convincing. That city typically depicted the ubiquitous Zeus-bull in a frontal pose, and the legend’s arrangement as reversed Π-O-Λ would also be atypical. Since the inscription is unfortunately indistinct, the attribution remains uncertain.
A particularly interesting comparison can be made with a coin from the BCD collection, sold in Classical Numismatic Group E-Auction 360 (2015), 111. That piece closely resembles ours in both weight and iconography, though it bears no inscription. Furthermore, on that example, the nymph appears on the obverse, facing left, while the bull’s head is shorter than on our specimen and turned to the right. An especially noteworthy detail on our coin is the depiction of the bull’s horns: although shown in profile, both horns are visible - an unusual rendering that lends the powerful animal a depth absent from the BCD specimen.
Until a specimen with a clearly legible inscription emerges, the attribution of both coins must remain tentative. Still, they serve as a vivid reminder that Crete’s rich and varied coinage continues to yield surprises.
