TYPE Ancient Greece, Miletos (Ionia), mid-6th c. BC, silver twelfth stater, 1.17g
DESCRIPTION .
Obv: Forepart of roaring lion right, head turned back (left)
Rev: Elaborate 4-part stellate pattern in incuse square
REFERENCE: SG 3532
GRADING: VF / AEF, toned, slightly porous
ORDER INFO: G2159, $60
A charming affordable coin, issued a mere century after the advent of coinage, featuring in fine style one of the quintessential early motifs - the head of a roaring lion. Very nice specimen, additionally interesting for it makes apparent that the obverse shows the forepart of a lion (with body and foreleg facing right), with head turned, all in the tradition of the earliest electrum coinage from Western Asia Minor, including the very locale of Miletos.