ISLANDS OFF CARIA, Rhodos. Rhodes. Circa 408/7-404 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 22 mm, 15.19 g, 12 h), Chian standard. Head of Helios facing slightly to right. Rev. POΔION Rose; in field to left, scallop-shell; all within incuse square. Ashton 3. Bérend 1-6. Hecatomnus 78 var. (A15/P-, unlisted reverse die). HGC 6, 1417. HN online 991.13 (this coin). SNG Ashmolean 527. Rare and with a powerful head of Helios in high relief. Somewhat granular, otherwise, good very fine.



Rhodes is the largest island in the Dodecanese and lies off the coast of ancient Caria. The city of Rhodes, at the island’s northern tip, was founded in 408 BC through a synoecism of the three leading cities of the island - Ialyssos, Kamiros, and Lindos. This impressive tetradrachm, struck in the years immediately following the foundation of the new city, stands as testimony to the confidence and resources of the newly founded Rhodian polis, which would later come to dominate the eastern Mediterranean. The new city also grew into a cultural and intellectual center of the Greek world and maintained strong ties with the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt. Rhodian coinage consistently features the head of Helios, the sun god, on the obverse; Pindar relates that Helios formed the island through his union with the nymph Rhodos. The reverse typically depicts a rose, a pun on the island’s name (Greek ῥόδον).