Weight 15,44 g, 36 mm. An excellent type of Stephanophoric Tetradrachm – bearing a wreath (stephanos) on the reverse, struck on a wide flan (165-145 BC) and preserved in a beautiful, cabinet patina. Scarce. Reference: Sacks Issue 24; de Luynes 2532; SNG Copenhagen –.
The Stephanophoric tetradrachms from Myrina, issued after the Peace of Apamea (188 B.C.), are among the finest achievements of Hellenistic coinage. The beautiful, delicately idealized portrait of Apollo delights with its harmonious proportions, the soft modeling of his facial features, and the intricately detailed hair, whose arrangement reflects patterns known from sculpture of the period. These tetradrachms constitute not only a significant element of the period's monetary system but also valuable evidence of the transfer of artistic forms between sculpture and coinage in the Hellenistic world.
