IONIA. Miletos. Circa 350-340 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 23 mm, 15.25 g, 1 h), Theopropos, magistrate. Laureate head of Apollo to left. Rev. ΘΕΟΠΡΟΠΟ[Σ] Lion walking left, head turned back to right towards star above; in field to left, monogram of MI. Deppert-Lippitz - (V7/R-, unlisted reverse die). Marcellesi 2. Pixodarus - (A2/P-). Rare. Struck in high relief and of fine style. Slightly rough and with minor pitting on the obverse, otherwise, about extremely fine.

The exquisite late Classical tetradrachms of Miletos were struck in the years leading up to the wars of Alexander the Great, during which the great city was swiftly captured in 334 BC after a brief siege. Regrettably, the reason for their issuance remains unknown, though the overall output of silver coins must have been substantial, as at least a dozen magistrates are recorded across all denominations. The Milesian civic Tetradrachms are rare today, yet their stylistic perfection attests to the exceptional artistic skill cultivated in 4th-century Ionia. Their designs reference Miletos’ principal deity, Apollon Didymeios, whose sanctuary lay 16 km south of the city and whose sacred animal, the lion, is depicted on the reverse. Notably, the lion, shown turning its head backward, already appeared on the city’s Archaic coinage and would continue to serve as a coat of arms well into the Roman period. Particularly intriguing is the shape of the star or sun above the lion on this coin. It consists of eight rays radiating from a stellate pattern reminiscent of the complex geometric incusa found on Miletos’ Archaic coinage. The sun was closely linked to the worship of Apollo, whose principal epithet, in his role as god of light, was Phoibos ('the luminescent' or 'bright one').