 NAXOS. 540-530 B.C. Drachm. Dionysos head l. with cross-hatched beard, ivy-wreathed. Rv. Cluster of grapes hanging from vine with two leaves rendered in outline form, retrograde ethnic below. 5.46 grams. Pozzi 1136 (this coin), cf. Cahn 5 (two specimens cited, this coin used to illustrate reverse die R4; obverse die unpublished, Ludwig 382, Rizzo Pl.XXVIII.2, Kraay 755, SNG Cop.485. Some dark patination principally on the obverse. A very rare and important piece from the earliest coinage of Naxos. Unpublished obverse die, and possibly unique thus. Choice Very Fine, the reverse better. (Est. $7,500-$9,500)
Ex Pozzi Collection (Naville I, Geneva, April 4, 1921, lot 50 = Boutin cat.1135); Feuardent VI, 1906, lot 482.
Although this coin appeared in the 1921 Pozzi sale, and it was used to illustrate the reverse die, Cahn failed to recognize this obverse die as different from others he published. His oversight stemmed from the fact that the coin was obscured by a thick excavation patina. At some point later, the patination was professionally removed to reveal the nuances of the die. Thus we can add a new die to the known corpus, with the distinctive characteristics being Dionysos' ''disjointed'' nose, small nostril and cross-hatched beard.
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