MACEDON. Akanthos. Circa 480-470 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 29 mm, 17.00 g). Lion to right, attacking a bull collapsing to left with head raised; above, pellet-in-annulet; in exergue, stylized akanthos flower.
Rev. Raised quadripartite square. Boston MFA 519. Desneux -, cf. 61-63 (unlisted dies). SNG ANS 10. Lightly toned and of vigorous late archaic style. A few light marks
, otherwise, nearly extremely fine.
Ex Leu 13, 27 May 2023, 50 and Numismatic Fine Arts VIII, 6 June 1980, 91.
Akanthos was situated on the eastern shore of Chalkidiki, near the narrowest point of the Athos peninsula. The city, reportedly founded by colonists from Andros in 655 BC, amassed wealth through the export of agricultural products, timber from nearby forests, and silver mined from the Thraco-Macedonian hinterland. Its substantial coinage, including archaic and classical tetradrachms, has been found as far afield as Sicily, Egypt, and Persia, indicating that it was often exported as bullion rather than used locally as currency.
