CARIA. Bargylia. 4th century BC. AE (Bronze, 9 mm, 0.68 g, 8 h). Forepart of a lion to right, head turned back to left. Rev. BAP Fish swimming left; all within wreath. HN online 2564 var. (differing legend arrangement). Of the highest rarity, the second known example. Very fine.

The attribution of this lovely little coin is surprisingly difficult! Clearly the obverse is derived from Classical coins from Miletos, but the ethnic BAP and the reverse type are unknown. The two Carian cities Bargylia and Bargasa come to mind, but the relatively unimportant city of Bargasa only issued Roman Provincial Coins and we therefore prefer to assign our coin to Bargylia instead, as do the authors of Historia Numorum online. Their dating of the issue to 200-30 BC, however, seems to be much too late for this cataloguer, who prefers dating it to the 4th century. Bargylia lie some 30 km south of Milet on the coast - the combination of the Milesian lion on the obverse with a maritime reverse seems quite appropriate for a small Carian coastal settlement under Milesian influence in the 4th century BC