LUCANIA. Metapontion. Circa 340-330 BC. Didrachm or Nomos (Silver, 22 mm, 7.76 g, 10 h). Head of Demeter to right, wearing wreath of grain ears, triple pendant earring and pearl necklace, and with a light veil at the back of her head. Rev. META Ear of barley with leaf to left; above leaf, mouse to left; below leaf, Φ. HN Italy 1570. Johnston Class A, 8.8 (same dies). SNG ANS 419 (same obverse die). SNG Lockett 412 (same dies). A lovely example, very well centered and of beautiful style. Slightly rough, otherwise, about extremely fine.




This type is not particularly rare, yet the charming reverse symbol - the mouse - is especially well-struck and preserved here. Its meaning remains somewhat unclear: for grain farmers, these small rodents have traditionally posed a significant threat to their income security, but a religious interpretation is also conceivable. The two aspects need not be mutually exclusive, as illustrated by the Mysian Apollo Smintheos, an epithet best translated as 'Mouse Exterminator' (from the Cretan or Phrygian word 'sminthos', meaning 'mouse' or 'rat'). Although people in antiquity were unaware of the role mice and rats played in transmitting diseases, they recognized them as a threat to food security, giving rise to local cults addressing these fears.