Lampsakos (BC 394-330) AV Stater - Demeter

ca 370 BC. AV Stater (8.35g), Persic standard. Half length figure of Demeter, wearing girdled chiton and himation, rising left from earth, holding three ears of grain; behind left shoulder, two ears of grain and vine bearing two bunches of grapes / Forepart of winged horse right with curved wing. Good VF. Extremely rare, only two known specimens, this being the only one in private hands. Ex Gillet Coll.; Weber Coll., 5096.

Following the example and standard of the Persic daric, Lampsakos was the first Greek city to make regular issues of gold coinage which enjoyed an international circulation from Sicily to the Black Sea. As at Kyzikos, the quality of engraving was very high, and types changed frequently: about forty types were produced in a period of about sixty years, one of the most interesting of which is the highly original rendering of Demeter Chthonia rising from the ground. Chthonic deities were those whose powers came from the earth. An important aspect of Demeter celebrated in the Eleusinian Mysteries was that she was venerated as an earth-goddess who symbolised the annual cycle of death and rebirth in nature, especially the grain harvest.