Kyzikos (BC 400-330) EL Stater

ca 380 BC. EL Stater (16.03g). Bearded and horned head of Silenus (or Pan) left, wearing ivy wreath; tunny below / Quadripartite incuse square with granular surfaces. Rare. A stunning portrait of late Classical style and a lovely reddish tone. Insignificant flan crack, otherwise EF.

Ex Sotheby’s sale 3/1996, 109; Star Coll. This stater speaks to the relations between Cyzicus and its great trading partner, Panticapaeum, where numerous Cyzicene staters have been found, testifying to their broad circulation in Crimea. This arresting Pan-Silenus head seems to have been borrowed from the obverse of the gold staters of Panticapaeum, which were issued in great quantity from ca 350-320 BC; if the stater predates that period, the motif may be inspired by other art from Panticapaeum. There is ample evidence of the relation of these two cities as supplier and consumer of gold. It has been suggested that the main supply of gold for Cyzicene staters was the rich mines of the Ural mountains.