Ancient Greek Gold Coin From Crimea Sells For A Record-Breaking £4.8m

Ancient & medieval PRs seem to have been very strong the past year or so, which I didn't expect given the monetary issues most countries (and by proxy, their citizens) will continue to face for some time.

I actually liked the auction's other example of this coin (with bust in profile) better, but I'm not good at ascertaining "artistic" quality in stuff. The $5M premium for the inferior 3/4 example versus superior profile example seems extreme, even with the jump from "exceedingly rare" to "of the greatest rarity."

They also had a rare gold hare litra from Messana -- and lots of other really high-end items -- that pushed valuations up.

Not that I can afford anything near these levels, but it's still interesting to watch; and it definitely trickles down to the lower-end bidders like myself.

A satyr? It is not the head of a Satyr, it's the god Pan. Couldn't the auction house at least read the relevant museum catalogs?

The Gulbenkian Museum has two of these. Same obverse, slightly different reverse in one of those.
I doubt the only three claim. But the specimens in the museum may have come from the Hermitage sale also, some of its contents did.
The reverse in this one is oddly crude, compared to the two museum pieces there.VERY oddly crude. Caveat emptor. The catalog is published and has good photos. It's the cover coin.

The observe die seems to be the same. It is extremely similar but I see what looks like differences in the left eye and cheek, comparing photos. May have been tooled? Would be necessary to see the two side by side.

The reverse is similar in design but has none of the squashed edges. Unfortunately the second coin is not photographed in the catalog. This same reverse in the Pan profile coin is much better struck.

Found the auction description

Stater circa 350-300, AV 9.12 g. Facing bearded head of Pan, slightly l. Rev. Π - A - N Griffin standing l., head facing and its r. forepaw raised. Locker Lampson 122 = Gulbenkian 583 (these dies). Gulbenkian 584 (this obverse die) and 580 (this reverse die). K. Regling, Der Griechische Goldschatz von Prinkipo, ZfN XLI, 1931, 165 (this obverse die). Jameson 2143. Gillet 851 (this coin).

So they knoew and compared. Good. Gulbenkian bought the Lampson coin?
The only three may have been creative interpretation by who wrote the other piece.