Greek, Paphlagonia, Sinope, AR trihemiobol c. 330-300 BC, nymph facing/eagle, ex-Pozzi

about EF, minor roughness, old cabinet tone, a superb obverse. Rare. 

SNG BM Black Sea 1498-1502 (type) 

ex-Professor Samuel-Jean Pozzi (1846-1918) collection; Ars Classica-Naville I (Lucerne, 14 March 1921), lot 2116 

Pozzi was a gynaecologist of private means who formed one of the greatest collections of Greek coinage of all time; he was also painted by Sargent (Dr. Pozzi at Home, 1881), and served as Senator for Bergerac from 1898-1902. There is a modern English biography (Julian Barnes, The Man in the Red Coat) although unfortunately it is more concerned with his sometimes scandalous personal life than his professional work or collecting; Pozzi was also a great society figure and celebrity of his day, a friend of Marcel Proust among others.