LUCANIA. Herakleia. Circa 360-350 BC. Nomos (Silver, 24

LUCANIA. Herakleia. Circa 360-350 BC. Nomos (Silver, 24 mm, 7.86 g, 6 h). Head of Athena facing, turned slightly to the right, wearing a triple-crested Attic helmet. Rev. ͰΗΡΑΚΛΗΙ[ΩΝ] Herakles, nude, standing right and strangling the struggling Nemean lion with both hands; to left, at Herakles's feet, club and bow. AMB 107 var (same obverse die). De Luynes 426 (same dies). HN III 1375. Van Keuren 21. Work 22. Very rare. With an attractive and dramatic three-quarter facing head of Athena. Some striking flatness on the reverse, otherwise, about extremely fine.
Ex Numismatica Ars Classica 46, 2 April 2008, 789, and from the collection of A. D. Moretti, Numismatica Ars Classica L, 18 May 2001, 1062.

For the facing head of Athena on this coin, which was ultimately derived from the famous Syracusan tetradrachm by Eukleidas (below lot 45), see the magisterial article by the late W. Müseler, "Geteilte Bilderwelten: Kopierte Motive, wandernde Stempelschneider oder zentrale Prägestätten. Vier Fallstudien, " SMB 287, 2022, pp. 51-71, but especially pp. 51-56 and fig. 4.