Elis, Olympia. Circa 245-210 BC. Drachm

Elis, Olympia. Circa 245-210 BC. Drachm (Silver, 18 mm, 4.76 g). Eagle flying right, tearing at hare held in its talons. Rev. F-A Winged thunderbolt with double volutes. BCD Olympia 249 these dies; Schwabacher, “A Hoard of Drachms of Elis,” NC 19, 1939, Group III, 76; HGC 5, 509. Old cabinet toning, likely from an earlier collection. Very fine or better. Ex Münzen und Medaillen Fixed Price List 606, 2001, 22; and Münzen & Medaillen Deutschland GmbH 46, 2018, 159. A handsome late Hellenistic drachm of Olympia, struck under the authority of Elis, the city responsible for administering the sanctuary and games of Zeus at Olympia. The obverse eagle attacking a hare is a vivid image of Zeus’ bird in predatory motion, a type ultimately rooted in the powerful Zeus imagery of the sanctuary. The reverse thunderbolt, winged and ornamented with double volutes, reinforces the same divine association in a more emblematic form. The letters F-A are the ethnic of the Eleans, using the digamma form for the local name, commonly rendered ϜΑ, for Faleion, “of the Eleans.” This regional spelling is one of the attractive archaizing features of the coinage of Elis. The reference to BCD Olympia 249, these dies, and Schwabacher’s hoard study places the coin within a well-defined late group of Elean drachms. Although this period is far removed from the great classical issues of Olympia, the types remain strongly tied to the sanctuary’s identity: eagle, hare, and thunderbolt together evoke Zeus, sacrifice, and the religious authority of Olympia. The old cabinet tone and M&M provenance add further appeal, especially if an earlier collection origin can be traced.