Owner Comments:
Erythrae was one of the twelve cities to form the Ionian League starting around the middle 7th century BC. It's widely believed, the City States of the Ionic League minted the world's first coinage to effect the efficient flow of commerce. Coinage of the time was struck from Electrum, a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver, and is the first metal used in minting coinage. Early coins had simple obverse designs such as pellets or lines, with an incuse punch reverse. This one-sixth Stater was struck in Erythrae about a century later (550-500 BC) as obverse designs evolved to depict animals and people. In this case, both.
Head of Heracles left, wearing lion-skin headdress / Quadripartite incuse square with one shallow quadrant and one filled. This symbol, thought to represent the sun, was also associated with the goddess Athena, for whom the Erythrae built a temple of worship. SNG von Aulock 1942. SNG Kayhan 737-8.
This is an example of how the "grade" of a coin based on its preservation does not line up with its attractiveness. Here is a link to a MS 5/5 example of the same coin, which I think we can all agree looks far inferior: https://www.moderncoinmart.com/ionia-erythrae-c-550-500-bc-obv-heracles-rv-quadripartite-incuse-ngc-ms-strike-5-5-surface-5-5-sku42277.html
Collector Kohaku has an example of this coin with an incuse swastika on the reverse, instead of the checkers on my coin. https://coins.www.collectors-society.com/wcm/CoinView.aspx?sc=311563.
Abour 50 years after this coin was struck, near 453 BC, Erythrae, refusing to pay tribute, seceded from Athens' Delian League. A garrison and a new government restored the union. It was freed from Persian rule by Alexander in 334, and after his death it supported the diadochos Antigonus I Monophthalmus (one eyed). A free city in the Roman province of Asia, Erythrae was noted for its wine, goats, timber, and millstones, as well as its prophetic sibyls, Herophile and Athenais.
NGC has certified 71 of these in all grades, with 7 in "higher" grades.