Nomos 37

CIMMERIAN BOSPOROS. Pantikapaion. Circa 340-325 BC. Stater (Gold, 19 mm, 9.10 g, 5 h). Head of Pan to left, wearing a wreath of ivy. Rev. Π-Α-Ν Griffin standing on grain ear to left, his head facing front, holding a spear in his mouth and with his right forepaw raised. Anokhin 1021. HGC 7, 20. Kraay & Hirmer 440. MacDonald 54. SNG BM Black Sea 864. Struck from the same dies, but of finer quality, as the piece from the Rosen Collection, that appeared as lot 282 of Triton XXIII in 2020 (it had previously been lot 93 in Gorny & Mosch 195 in 2011). Impressively high relief for the series; a true masterpiece of late Classical art. Virtually as struck.

From a Swiss collection, ex Classical Numismatic Group 124, 19 September 2023, 160.

In NGC encapsulation #6827265-001, graded "MS 5/5 strike, 4/5 surface, Fine Style"

Pantikapaion was founded by Milesian colonists in c. 575 BC on the western shore of the Cimmerian Bosporos. It prospered greatly from its involvement in the Euxine grain trade, since it served as a collection and dispersal center for Crimean grain on its way to markets in the Aegean. Because of this, the community grew very wealthy, enabling it to support both an extensive and highly varied silver coinage as well as beautiful gold issues, struck on the Bosporan standard of c. 9.1 g, of which this splendid coin is a wonderful example. The head of bearded Pan on the obverse, crowned with a wreath of ivy, is a punning allusion to the city's name, while the fearsome horned griffin on the reverse was reputedly the protector of the mines from which the gold used to make the coins had come.
This coin, thanks to the exceptionally high relief in which it was struck, has a truly sculptural presence (if you turn it sideways Pan seems to be looking at you). The master artist who engraved the die for this coin - and he was certainly responsible for many others in this period - really outdid himself: the dies were cut very deeply and with great care. This is yet another indication that he must have been a multi-talented artist, fully cognisant of all aspects of the Graeco-Scythian artistic milieu.