Lot 3652

Description

Peloponnesos, Sikyonia, Sikyon, (330/320-280's B.C.), silver hemidrachm, (2.53 g), obv. chimaera to left, **SI* below, on ground line with right foreleg raised high, rev. dove flying to left, dot over tail, (cf.S.2774, BCD 292 [LHS 96], BMC 124). Toned, good very fine.

Ex Noble Numismatics Sale 107 (lot 3308) and the UBS Switzerland Auction Sale January 27, 2004 (lot 595 part) with collector's ticket.
The Chimaera's presence on the coinage may have ties to the Achaean cult of Bellerophon, slayer of the monster and to the Corinthian coin types derived from this myth. Corinth was the ancient enemy of Sikyon. The dove on the reverse was probably the animal of Aphrodite, whose worship was important at Sikyon.