Obverse: Head of a Maenad Facing Right
Reverse: A Torch
Mytilene, whose name is pre-Greek, is the chief
town of the island of Lesbos. The ancient city,
lying off the east coast, was initially confined to
an island that later was joined to Lesbos,
creating a north and south harbor. Mytilene
contested successfully with Methymna in the
north of the island for the leadership of the
island in the seventh century B.C. and became
the center of the island's prosperous hinterland.
From the 6th century B.C. the city suffered from
dictators, wars with Athens, Persian conquest,
and civil revolts. Eventually, it was made a free
city under the Romans.
How many hands have touched a coin in your
pocket or purse? What eras and lands have the
coin traversed on its journey into our
possession? As we reach into our pockets to pull
out some change, we rarely hesitate to think of
who might have touched the coin before us, or
where the coin will venture to after it leaves our
hands. More than money, coins are a symbol of
the state that struck them, of a specific time and
location, whether contemporary currencies or
artifacts of a long forgotten empire. This
stunning hand-struck coin reveals an expertise
of craftsmanship and intricate sculptural detail
that is often lacking in contemporary machine-
made currencies. This magnificent coin is
memorial to the ancient glories of the Island of
Lesbos, passed down from the hands of
civilization to civilization, from generation to
generation.
- (C.2338)
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