Lot 17: KINGS of THRACE. Skostokos. 277-260 BC. AR Tetradrachm. Ainos mint. Struck in the name of Lysimachos.

KINGS of THRACE. Skostokos. 277-260 BC. AR Tetradrachm (28mm - 16.75 g). Ainos mint. Struck in the name of Lysimachos. Diademed head of deified Alexander right / Athena seated left, holding Nike in her extended right hand, left arm leaning on her shield; pellet (?) before. Fischer-Bossert. “Die Lysimachaeier des Skostokos” in Revue Belge (2005), A7 (Va4/Ra6). Good VF, toned, reverse double struck, nice obverse. Rare.

Skostokos was a Thracian or Scythian dynast who took control of the city of Ainos (where, according to Mørkholm, these coins were struck) during the unsettled period following Lysimachos' death. He struck tetradrachms copying the types of Lysimachos, even leaving Lysimachos' name on the coins. Fischer-Bossert identifies two groups of coins attributable to the reign of Skostokos. The first group bears the name of Skostokos on the reverse or are die linked to issues with Skostokos' name. The second group do not have Skostokos' name and are not die linked to issues in the first group, but they use the same control marks and are clearly of the same style as the first group, likely having been engraved by the same hands. This coin is part of this second group. This obverse die is nearly identical to the issue found struck in Skostokos' name (see Triton X lot 122) and almost certainly cut by the same engraver. The issues of Skostokos are normally found with a herm in the left field. The pellet on this coin is the remains of the top of a herm.

• Offered By: VAuctions
• Lot #: 17
• Listing #: 205935
• Closed: Thursday, December 18, 2008 4:32:00 PM CT
• Estimate: $500