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Phokaia (BC 521-478) B30a - EL 1/6 Stater131 viewsca 521-478 BC. EL Hekte - Sixth Stater (10.5mm, 2.63g). Helmeted head left; below, small seal left / Quadripartite incuse square. gVF, lightly toned. Well centered and struck.
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Phokaia (BC 521-478) B30a - EL 1/6 Stater174 viewsca 521-478 BC. EL Hekte (9mm, 2.55g). Helmeted head left; below, seal left / Quadripartite incuse square. Good VF.
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Phokaia (BC 521-478) B31 - EL 1/6 Stater1734 viewsca 521-478 BC. EL Hekte (2.51g, 12h). Female head left, wearing helmet or close fitting cap; seal to right / Quadripartite incuse square. Superb EF. Very rare, only four specimens cited by Bodenstedt.
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Phokaia (BC 521-478) B31 - EL 1/6 Stater1326 viewsca 521-478 BC. EL Hekte (2.57g, 12mm). Female head left, wearing helmet or close fitting cap; [seal to right] / Quadripartite incuse square. EF.
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Phokaia (BC 521-478) B33 - EL 1/6 Stater1501 viewsca 521-478 BC. EL Hekte (2.52g). Archaic head of Artemis(?) left, wearing stephane and circular earring; small seal behind / Rough quadripartite incuse square. EF, a few scuffs. Ex von Aulock Collection, 7942.
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Phokaia (BC 521-478) B33 - EL 1/6 Stater214 viewsca 521-478 BC. EL Hekte (10mm, 2.60g). Head of nymph left, wearing stephane and earring; to right, seal downward / Quadripartite incuse square. aVF. Very rare.
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Phokaia (BC 521-478) B35 - EL 1/6 919 viewsca 480 BC. EL Hekte (2.58g, 10mm). Forepart of man-headed bull left, collar with row of pearls; behind, seal swimming upward / Irregular quadripartite incuse square punch. Very Rare. EF. A pleasing example of this type.
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Phokaia (BC 521-478) B35 - EL 1/6 Stater911 viewsca 521-478 BC. EL Hekte (2.58g). Bearded head left; seal to right / Quadripartite incuse square. Good VF. Rare.
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Phokaia (BC 521-478) B35 - EL 1/6 Stater1002 viewsca 510-490 BC. EL 1/6 Stater - Hekte (2.57g). Head of a man-headed bull (river god) facing left, the truncation adorned with a row of dots; at right, seal swimming upwards / Four-part incuse square. EF.
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Phokaia (BC 521-478) B35 - EL 1/6 Stater742 viewsca 521-478 BC. EL Hekte (2.55g, 10mm). Horned head of river god left, small seal behind and upward / Quadripartite. Good extremely fine. Carr coll.
There are 6 known to Bodenstedt. The theme of a horned head of a river god also makes an appearance on a Hemihekte of Mytilene – see Coin ID #13297.
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Phokaia (BC 521-478) B38 - EL 1/6 Stater983 viewsca 521-478 BC. EL Hekte (2.58g). Head of a roaring lion left; seal to right / Quadripartite incuse square. EF. Very rare, only four specimens cited by Bodenstedt, all in museum collections.
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Phokaia (BC 521-478) B38 - EL 1/6 Stater795 viewsca 521-478 BC. EL Hekte (2.55g). Roaring lion left; seal below / Quadripartite incuse square. VF, struck with worn obverse die. Extremely rare, only four specimens listed by Bodenstedt, all in museum collections.
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Phokaia (BC 521-478) B39 - EL 1/6 Stater919 viewsca 521-478 BC. EL Hekte (2.49g). Forepart of a winged griffin left, seal (fokh) behind / Quadripartite incuse square. Good VF. Very rare, only 3 specimens cited by Bodenstedt.
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Phokaia (BC 521-478) B41 - EL 1/6 Stater805 viewsca 521-478 BC. EL Hekte (2.57g). Helmeted head of Athena left; seal to right / Quadripartite incuse square. Good VF. Extremely rare, only seven specimens listed by Bodenstedt.
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Phokaia (BC 521-478) B42 - EL 1/6 Stater1507 viewsca 521-478 BC. EL Hekte (2.7g, 10mm). Forepart of griffin left; to right, seal downward / Quadripartite incuse square. gVF. Rare type.
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Phokaia (BC 521-478) B43 - EL 1/6 Stater1411 viewsca 521-478 BC. EL Hekte (2.51g). Facing head of Satyr, [seal to left] / Quadripartite incuse square. Good VF. Scarce, only 9 specimens cited by Bodenstedt for this type.
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Phokaia (BC 521-478) B43 - EL 1/6 Stater866 viewsca 492 BC. EL Hekte (2.52g). Facing head of Silenos / Quadripartite incuse square. EF.
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Phokaia (BC 521-478) B43 - EL 1/6 Stater829 viewsca 521-478 BC. EL Hekte (9mm, 2.55g). Facing head of Silenos / Quadripartite incuse square punch. Near EF, toned. Very rare, only 9 examples noted by Bodenstedt, 5 of which are in museums (Cambridge, London, Berlin, Karlsruhe [2]).
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Phokaia (BC 521-478) B43 - EL 1/6 Stater172 viewsca 521-478 BC. EL Hekte (10mm, 2.57g). Facing head of Silenos with wide, open eyes, broad beard and long mustache, seal left / Quadripartite incuse square punch. Typical compact flan. VF. Carr coll.; ex. Laurent F coll. sold through private sale by cgf.fr.
9 examples noted by Bodenstedt, 5 of which are in museums (Cambridge, London, Berlin, Karlsruhe [2]). A further 54 are known, from a variety of different dies. This example a die match only to Leu Auc. 13 (1975), lot 237.
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Phokaia (BC 521-478) B44 - EL 1/6 Stater961 viewsca 521-478 BC. EL Hekte (2.59g). Head of Ares left, wearing Attic helmet / Incuse with 6? divisions. VF. Rare. Ex Rosen coll. 593 and Lanz Auk. 52 (1990), lot 213.
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Phokaia (BC 521-478) B44 - EL 1/6 Stater793 viewsca 520-500 BC. EL 1/6 Stater - Hekte (2.59g). Bearded warrior head (Ares?) facing left, wearing Ionian helmet. Beneath truncation, seal swimming right. Rx: Four-part incuse square. Good VF.
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Phokaia (BC 521-478) B44 - EL 1/6 Stater529 viewsca 521-478 BC. EL Hekte (2.54g, 11mm). Helmeted head of Ares left; seal below / Quadripartite incuse square. EF. Rare.
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Phokaia (BC 521-478) B44 - EL 1/6 Stater370 viewsca 521-478 (486) BC. EL Hekte (2.46g, 10.32mm, 3.67mm in profile). Head of bearded Ares left, wearing crested helmet [below, small seal right] / ‘Crisp’ quadripartite incuse square. EF. Carr coll.
Only 7 examples known to Bodenstedt. None recorded in Coin Archives, acsearch records 18 examples. No die match to this coin. On the obverse, unlike most examples, there is no floral motif/decoration on the helmet. As to the reverse, this is the first coin of this emission to have a clear quadripartite incuse square - a very small number of examples have a very rough incuse square with internal divisions either crude or absent. This coin is part of Series 2 of Bodenstedt and he dates this emission to 486 BC.
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Phokaia (BC 521-478) B46 - EL 1/6 Stater791 viewsearly 5th century BC. EL Hekte (2.58g, 10mm). Two seals swimming in circle to left / Quadripartite incuse square. EF.
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Phokaia (BC 521-478) B47 - EL 1/6 Stater432 viewsca 521Â-478 BC. EL Hekte - Sixth Stater (10mm, 2.54g). Round shield decorated with griffin springing left above seal left / Quadripartite incuse square. Good VF. Well centered. Extremely rare, apparently the third known.
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Phokaia (BC 521-478) B48 - EL 1/6 Stater750 viewsca 520 BC. EL 1/6 Stater - Hekte (2.57g). Bull's head left, the truncation with a dotted rim; behind, seal swimming upwards / Incuse square with irregular surfaces. EF.
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Phokaia (BC 521-478) B49 - EL 1/6 Stater1171 viewsearly 5th century BC. EL Hekte (11mm, 2.56g). Head and neck of bridled horse left; [seal in left field] / Quadripartite incuse punch. EF.
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Phokaia (BC 521-478) B49? - EL 1/6 Stater912 viewsca 521-478 BC. EL Hekte (11mm, 2.60g). Protome of bridled horse left; seal behind / Quadripartite incuse square. VF, light scratches.
The two dies illustrated for issue 49 show a horsehead only, with no legs visible, and the seal below the horse rather than behind it.
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Phokaia (BC 521-478) B50 - EL 1/6 Stater869 viewsca 521-478 BC. EL Hekte (2.61g). Helmeted male head to left, with frontal eye and tendril ornament on bowl of helmet; below, seal swimming left / Rough quadripartite incuse square. Very rare. aEF.
The helmeted head must be that of a hero-warrior. The whole idea of using just a helmeted head with no individuality as a type is quite interesting; that there is a head inside the helmet is clear from the eye that peeks out above the side piece.
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Phokaia (BC 521-478) EL 1/6 Stater 774 viewsca 521-478 BC. EL Hekte (2.58g). Forepart of lion left; above, seal right / Quadripartite incuse square. Unpublished. Good VF. Unique. Ex Tkalec (5/2006), lot 67.
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) B01 - EL 1/24 Stater930 viewsca 625/00 BC. EL 1/24 Stater (0.62g, 7mm). Head of griffin right / Quadripartite incuse square. Near EF. Well centered. Very rare.
This issue is possibly from the earliest coinage at Teos; see: M. Matzke, JNG 50, p. 43, "Serie 0"
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) B01 - EL 1/24 Stater1201 viewsca 625/20-520. EL 1/24 Stater (0.63g). Head of griffin right with open jaws / Quadripartite incuse square. Very rare, well centered, bold and attractive. EF.
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) B01 - EL 1/6 1158 viewsca 500-480 BC. EL Hekte (2.60g, 10mm). Seal swimming left, Θ below / Irregular quadripartite incuse square punch. Extremely Rare. Unpublished, and possibly only the second known example. gVF.
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) B01 - EL 1/6 Stater992 viewsca 600-522 BC. EL Hekte (2.54g). Seal (fwkh) swimming along to left, looking back over its shoulder; annulet below / Rough quadripartite incuse square. Good VF. Extremely rare; the only coin in Bodenstedt's corpus illustrated with a line drawing! Bodenstedt identifies the device below the seal as a theta, but there is no evidence it is a letter.
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) B01 - EL 1/6 Stater683 viewsca 625/0-522 BC. EL Hekte – 1/6 Stater (2.60g). Seal left, head raised; Θ below / Incuse punch. Good VF, lightly toned. Unpublished, apparently unique.
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) B01 - EL 1/6 Stater910 viewsca 625/0-522 BC. EL Hekte – 1/6 Stater (2.60g). Forepart of seal right; behind, small seal right; circle below / Incuse punch. EF. Unique.
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) B01 - EL 1/6 Stater408 viewsca 625/0-522 BC. EL Hekte (10mm, 2.56g). Seal left, head right; Θ below / Rough incuse square. VF, struck a bit off center. Extremely rare, only one example cited by Bodenstedt (in the Hermitage).
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) B01 - EL Stater1217 viewsca 625-575 BC. EL Stater (16.47g). Head of griffin right, tongue protruding from open jaws, knob on forehead and two tendrils curling over neck / Rough incuse square. Good VF, obverse die slightly worn. The second specimen known, from a different pair of dies.
Attributed to Phokaia based on style, fabric, and metrology, as well as the fact that it uses a griffin head as a coin type on silver trihemiobols of the late 6th century BC.
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) B01 - EL Stater1010 viewsabout 580 BC. EL Stater (16.50g). Head of griffin right, tongue protruding from open jaws, knob on forehead / Four-part incuse square. Of the greatest rarity, probably the 3rd specimen known. gVF.
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) B02 - EL 1/24 Stater1243 viewsca 600-550 BC. EL 1/24 Stater (0.64g). Head of seal left / Incuse punch. Good VF.
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) B02 - EL 1/24 Stater1065 viewsca 625-575 BC. EL 1/24 Stater (0.63g). Head of griffin left / Irregular incuse square punch. Good VF. Well centered. Ex Jonathan P. Rosen Collection (Muenzen und Medaillen 72, 10/1987), lot 95; Numismatic Fine Arts IV (2/1979), lot 283.
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) B02 - EL 1/24 Stater602 viewsca 625-522 BC. EL 1/24 Stater (6mm, 0.66 g). Head of seal left / Incuse punch. VF.
This coin may have been struck from Bodenstedt’s obverse die c used on the 1/12 staters.
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) B02 - EL 1/24 Stater581 viewsca 625/0-522 BC. EL 1/24 Stater (6mm, 0.66g). Head of seal left / Quadripartite incuse square. Good VF.
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) B02 - EL 1/24 Stater565 viewsca 625/0-522 BC. EL 1/24 Stater (6mm, 0.51g). Head of seal left / Incuse punch. Near VF.
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) B02 - EL 1/24 Stater641 viewsca 625/0-522 BC. EL 1/24 Stater (6mm, 0.58g). Head of seal left / Incuse punch. Near VF.
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) B02 - EL 1/24 Stater583 viewsca 625/0-522 BC. EL Hemihekte – Twenty-Fourth Stater (6mm, 0.65g). Head of seal left / Incuse square punch. EF.
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) B02 - EL 1/48 Stater771 viewsca 625-575 BC. EL 1/48 Stater (0.33g, 4mm). Head of griffin left / Quadripartite incuse square. Good VF. Extremely rare, only two examples recorded by Bodenstedt, both in museums (Karlsruhe and Istanbul).
This issue is possibly from the earliest coinage at Teos; see: M. Matzke, JNG 50, p. 43, "Serie 0"
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) B02 - EL 1/48 Stater595 viewsca 625/00 BC. EL 1/48 Stater (5mm, 0.26g). Head of griffin left / Rough quadripartite incuse square. VF. This issue is possibly from the earliest coinage at Teos; see: M. Matzke, JNG 50, p. 43, "Serie 0."
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) B02 - EL 1/6 Stater6867 viewsca 625-550 BC. EL Hekte (2.60g). Head of seal left; small seal to right / Quadripartite incuse square. Near EF. Rare.
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) B02 - EL 1/6 Stater284 viewsca 625-522 BC. EL Hekte (8mm, 2.51g). Head of seal left, below small seal left / Incuse square punch.
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) B03 - EL 1/6 Stater1251 viewsca 625/20-522 BC. EL Hekte (2.58g). Head of roaring lion left; behind, seal swimming down / Quadripartite incuse punch. EF. Rare.
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) B06 - EL 1/6 Stater1028 viewsca 625/0-522 BC. EL Hekte (10mm, 2.56g). Helmeted head left; to right, seal upward / Quadripartite incuse square. Near EF. Extremely rare issue, the fifth known.
There are four emissions in Bodenstedt with this type, emissions 6, 15, 30, and 50. The latter three share common characteristics: there is a crest on the helmet, the bowl is adorned with some ornament, the eye is better formed (rather than a dot), and the seal is below the helmet. None of these characteristics are found on the first emission of this type, which features a helmet without crest, no ornamentation on the bowl, an eye formed of a large dot, and the seal placed to the right of the helmet. Additionally, the incuse on the reverse is also distinctly different from the later emissions.
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) B06 - EL 1/6 Stater164 viewsca 625/0-522 BC. EL Hekte – 1/6 Stater (9mm, 2.58 g). Helmeted head left; to right, seal upward / Quadripartite incuse square. Near EF, minor die wear on obverse. Extremely rare issue, the third known. N.T. Coll.; ex CNG 57 (4/2001), lot 491 (misattributed as Bodenstedt Em. 30).
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) B06? - EL 1/96 Stater826 viewsca 600-550 BC. EL 1/96 Stater (0.17g, 5mm). Helmeted head of warrior left / Quadripartite incuse square. EF.
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) B06? - EL 1/96 Stater557 viewsca 625-600 BC. EL 1/96 Stater (4mm, 0.13g). Head of a warrior left, wearing crested Corinthian helmet / Quadripartite incuse square. Good VF. Lee Coll.
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) B08 - EL 1/24 Stater1431 viewsca 600-550 BC. EL 1/24 Stater (0.65g). Head of ram left; seal swimming left below / Incuse square. Exceptionally well-centered for such a small coin. EF.
Strangely enough, the minor fractions of this issue are not recorded by Bodenstedt, including Boston 1897 and SNG von Aulock 1798.
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) B09 - EL 1/6 Stater1063 viewsca 600-522 BC. EL Hekte (2.58g). Forepart of bull right, head reverted; small seal above / Rough quadripartite incuse square. Good VF. Rare.
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) B09 - EL 1/6 Stater990 viewsca 625/0-522 BC. EL Hekte (10mm, 2.59g). Forepart of bull right, head left; above, small seal left / Incuse square punch. Near EF, lightly toned. Very rare, only seven examples noted by Bodenstedt.
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) B10 - EL 1/6 Stater335 viewsca 625/0-522 BC. EL Hekte (14mm, 2.62g). Horned head of cow left; to right, seal upwards / Quadripartite incuse square. VF. Ex Lanz 40 (5/1987), lot 274.
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) B12 - EL 1/24 Stater1044 viewsca 625/20-522 BC. EL 1/24 stater (0.63g). Griffin's head left; seal to right / Bipartite incuse square. Good VF.
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) B12 - EL 1/24 Stater2275 viewsca 625/20-520. EL 1/24 Stater (0.63g). Head of griffin with open jaws left; behind, seal swimming upwards / Rough incuse square. EF.
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) B12 - EL 1/6 Stater2538 viewsca 625-622 BC. EL Hekte (2.55g). Head of griffin left, seal behind / Quadripartite incuse square. EF. Rare.
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) B13 - EL 1/24 Stater567 viewsca 625/0-522 BC. EL 1/24 Stater (0.66g, 6mm). Roaring head of lion left; to right, small seal upward / Incuse square punch. gVF. Extremely rare.
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) B13 - EL 1/24 Stater548 viewsca 625/0-522 BC. EL 1/24 Stater (0.66g, 7mm). Head of roaring lion left; to right, small seal upward / Incuse square punch. gVF.
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) B14 - EL 1/6 Stater600 viewsca 625/0-522 BC. EL Hekte (10mm, 2.63g). Head of boar left; below, small seal left / Incuse square punch. gVF. Rare.
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) B16 - EL 1/6 Stater829 viewsca 625-522 BC. EL Hekte (2.58g). Head of man-headed bull left, seal to right / Quadripartite incuse square. aEF.
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) B19 - EL 1/6 Stater1060 viewsca 500-450 BC. EL Hekte (2.61g, 11mm). Goat running left, seal above / Incuse punch with 3 fields. aEF. Very rare.
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) B19 - EL 1/6 Stater786 viewsca 625/0-522 BC. EL Hekte (10mm, 2.59g). Goat half-kneeling left; above, small seal left / Incuse square punch. gVF. Very rare.
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) B20 - EL 1/48 Stater1416 viewsca 600-550 BC. EL 1/48 Stater (0.31g, 5mm). Head of ram left, seal below / Quadripartite incuse square. EF. Unpublished?
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) B21 - EL 1/6 Stater1245 viewsca 600-522 BC. EL Hekte (2.56g). Head of bull left, dotted truncation; seal (fwkh) above the forehead / Quadripartite incuse square. Good VF, sharp strike and nicely centered.
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) B25 - EL 1/6 Stater819 viewsca 625/620-522 BC. EL Hekte (2.56g). Lion's head with closed mouth left; above, seal right(?) / Incuse with three irregular fields. aEF. Rare.
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) EL 1/6 Stater1998 viewsca 525 BC. EL Hekte (2.57g). Head of eagle to left with frontal eye and hooked beak; dotted neck truncation; below, seal swimming to left / Irregular incuse square. Unpublished. Of great rarity, the finest of the 3 examples known. Good EF.
This exceptional piece, which was unknown to Bodenstedt, should date to the late 6th century (Bodenstedt’s dates are generally thought to be somewhat high). For a similar but slightly later eagle head, see the later issues of Cypriot Paphos (as ACGC 1088 and Traité II, 1278 ff.) but these are somewhat more fussily done and lack the piercing look of this eagle. The only eagle heads that can compare with this one in power were those engraved over a century later by the artist Da... and his followers at Olympia.
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) EL 1/6 Stater 1105 viewsca 6th century BC. EL 1/6 Stater - Hekte (2.56g). Seal between two fish swimming in different directions; pellet behind / Rough incuse square. Exceptionally rare. VF.
This puzzling issue was earlier attributed to both Cyzicus and Macedonia. However, due to weakly struck examples, the seal between the fish has never been recognized before ("an oval object between two pellets" and the like). The weight standard is clearly Phocaean and not Milesian, so unlikely to have been used in Northern Greece.
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) EL 1/6 Stater 1513 viewsca 600-560 BC. EL 1/6 Stater - Hekte (2.60g). Female head facing left, the hair interwoven by a (invisible) taenia, wearing earring; behind, seal swimming downwards / Irregular incuse square. Apparently unpublished. Several contact marks on cheek, otherwise good EF.
This coin surely belongs to the earliest issues of Phokaia. The early stage is proven by both the irregular form of the incuse (without a clear quadripartite structure) and the style of the obverse image. The nearest stylistic parallel might be a stater of Aeginetic weight, once attributed to Knidos (cf. Cahn, Knidos p. 75 pl. 19, 1 with earlier literature).
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) EL 1/6 Stater 1162 viewsca 525 BC. EL Hekte (2.59g). Head of eagle left with frontal eye and hooked beak; dotted neck truncation; below, seal swimming left / Irregular incuse square. Unpublished, except for Nomos I (2009), 105. Extremely rare, one of perhaps two or three known examples. EF.
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) EL 1/6 Stater962 viewsca 500 BC. EL Hekte (2.59g, 10mm). Panther’s head facing, small seal to right above / Irregular quadripartite incuse square punch. Extremely rare - the second recorded example. EF.
The small seal above the head was off the flan in Copenhagen, missed by Münzen und Medaillen and the type was not known to Bodenstedt.
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Phokaia (BC 600-522) EL 1/6 Stater554 viewsca 625/0-522 BC. EL Hekte (2.59g, 9mm). Mother seal swimming to left with a young swimming to right below, each with annulet above. / Rough incuse square. Apparently unpublished and unique, a wonderful coin with an incredibly charming obverse. Nearly extremely fine.
The name Phokaia is derived from the Greek word Φωκάι, which translates as 'seals' and is still found, as a Greek loanword, in the modern Latinian languages today (fr. 'phoque', it./span./portug. 'foca'). Unsurprisingly, the lovely animals served as a badge on Phokaia's coins, most commonly in the form of a small seal below or behind a larger main type. The earliest coinage of the city, however, still retains the seal as main type: on the present example, we find one of the most charming renderings of animals in all of Archaic Greek coinage, in the form of a mother seal swimming to the left with her young heading to the right below. The fact that mother and child swim in opposite directions gives the scenery an enchanting playfulness that almost certainly derives from personal observation by the artist - perhaps he was watching the animals romping around the small islands in the bay before Phokaia?
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Phokaia (BC 600-560) EL 1/6 Stater - B -827 viewsca 600-560 BC. EL Hekte (2.57g, 10mm). Head of female left with a narrow hair band, long flowing hair, and an annular earing; behind, seal swimming downwards / Irregular incuse square. EF. Carr coll.
Unknown to Bodenstedt, this is the 5th example to appear at auction. Same dies as Numismatica Ars Classica 92 part 1, 23 May 2016, Lot 216 and ‘Prospero’, The new York Sale XXVI, 4 January 2012, Lot 520. Others known are: Nomos 15, 22 October 2017, Lot 153; CNG 108, 16 May 2018, Lot 196.
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Phokaia (BC 625-575) EL Stater3395 viewsca 625-575 BC. EL Stater (16.35g). Seal swimming left, octopus clamped in its mouth, three square objects around / Two rough incuse squares set side-by-side, one smaller than the other. Apparently unpublished and unique, but Near VF.
This coin, one of six known staters of Phokaia, represents a new variety of type, in addition to a seal and two griffin head types recorded by Bodenstedt. It is certainly the most playful, with its depiction of a seal munching on a hapless cephalopod.
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