Nomos 37

THRACO-MACEDONIAN REGION. Berge (previously Lete or Siris). Circa 525-480 BC. Trihemiobol or 1/8 Stater (Silver, 11 mm, 0.94 g). Satyr crouching to right, with a long tail; in the fields to left and right, pellet. Rev. Quadripartite incuse square divided diagonally. HGC 3, 536 (this coin). HPM p. 82, 20. Peykov A0110. Smith Group 7. SNG ANS 971. Well-centered and well-struck, toned and particularly attractive for the type. Slightly porous, otherwise, extremely fine.

From the Apollo to Apollo Collection, ex Pecunem 29, 1 March 2015, 79.

This coin is featured in, H. B. Andersen, Masters of Miniature Art, A window to the birth of western culture and art, Nice, 2022

What, exactly is this satyr doing here? Obviously, he is crouching with his arms resting on his knees; but why? Surely he's not, hem, defecating by the side of the road, since that would be an absurd thing to show on a Greek coin, even from a remote area in Macedonia! Should we envision him as crouching down behind a bush, waiting for a complacent nymph to walk by; at which point he'd jump out and grab her, in scene familiar from both Greek painted pottery and coins? Quite possibly, but, of course, the rather me-too nymphs of myth usually carried a bag containing a lead weight, with which they habitually bashed obnoxious satyrs! Why, in fact, do you think so many satyrs are shown with smashed noses?