Nomos 37

MACEDON. Eion. Circa 600-550 BC. Myshemihekte or 1/24th Stater (Electrum, 7 mm, 0.71 g), on either the Thasian or Phokaic standard. Goose standing to right, his head turned back to left. Rev. Rough quadripartite incuse square. Apparently unpublished as a 1/24th stater, but see Nomos 21, 2020, 110 for another example, albeit inferior to this one. For a Hekte, or 1/6th stater, from this group, see CNG 91, 2012, 121 = Triton XV, 2012, 1236. Extremely rare, well-centered and well-struck. Minor marks, otherwise, nearly extremely fine.

The attribution of the Electrum series with the goose obverse to the mint of Eion in Macedonia has not been proven; in fact, we actually do not know exactly where Eion was located, nor can we even be sure that the coins that have been attributed to Eion were minted there or by a Thraco-Macedonian tribe. This uncertainty has been caused by the more rigorous scholarship of modern times: the attribution to Eion goes back to the 19th century when scholars had great confidence in themselves and made all sorts of attributions based on their own ideas rather than facts. Thus, in the present day we have a plethora of uncertain mints! In any case, what is certain is that Macedonia went through an electrum phase at an early stage of its monetary history. This coin is a witness to that period, which was, contrary to the situation in Ionia, extremely short lived. This was simply due to the fact that there was no convenient local supply of electrum, as there was in Ionia.