Ancient Greece Pegasus Stater 375BC to 340BC

Is this coin really neat, or what? It is a silver stater from the great city of Corinth in Ancient Greece. There appears to be an argument about precisely whose profile appears with the hard-to-miss headdress. It might be Aphrodite, Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation, or Athena, goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, law and justice, just warfare, mathematics, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, and skill. I guess with both of them you've got most bases covered.

Composition: silver (AR)
Weight: 7.7 to 8.7 grams
Diameter: 19 to 22 mm

There's no argument about the winged horse. That's Pegasus, or Pegasos, one of the best known creatures in Greek mythology. There is an excellent page about coins with Pegasus over at ForumAncientCoins.

The coin in our picture is in excellent shape. The devices are well defined and the fields are free of marks, gouges, nicks, and other distractions. It is currently up for auction by Roma Numismatics in London, where the estimated price is 500 British pounds, about $800 US dollars. The coin is so nice, I would not be surprised if the auction hammer fell near $1000. CoinQuest thanks Roma for use of their coin photo.

These are very collectible coins. They are very interesting, and collectors like coins with intriguing themes. Low-end examples sell near the $100 mark, but superb high-end coins tip over $2000. Roughly:

worn: $150 US dollars approximate catalog value
average circulated: $700
well preserved: $1800

Like all ancient coins, individual specimens stand on their own merits. Coins without much wear or deterioration command strong prices. Coins with off-center patterns, strong corrosion, discoloration, or heavy scratches will be worth small amounts.
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