In January 2012, 642 rare ancient coins from the Prospero collection were auctioned in New York by Baldwin’s, selling for $25 million. The house refused to reveal the identity of the British collector who collected the coins.
The featured coin broke all records by reaching the price of $3,250,000. It is the highest sale price of an ancient Greek coin on record. It is a gold stater from Pantikapaion depicting on one side the face of a Satyr and on the other the figure of a griffin, and it is estimated that it was cut between 350 and 300 BC. A rare coin with enormous collector value, it had a starting price of $650,000 at the auction.
The Satyrs are the protagonists in the “carnival” of ancient Athens, the Anthesteria. What type is a satyr? We know this more or less because even today we use the word to describe the promiscuous and lustful man usually of a certain age. The Satyrs were lesser deities, according to mythology, followers of Dionysus. They are depicted on vases and coins of antiquity as young men of animal appearance, with the tail, legs and horns of a goat. Satyrs have only the lower instincts developed. They play guitar, chase wine and Nymphs.
The festival of Anthesterii was dedicated to the coming of spring. The Anthesterias were held in the month of Anthestriona (end of February – beginning of March) and lasted three days. On the second day of the festival, a procession was formed which was supposed to bring the god Dionysus to the city. Athenians disguised as satyrs took part in the procession. They wore masks and animal skins, and smeared their faces with must. The rest of what these men did by communicating with their lower instincts under the influence of wine has been cut out by the censor…
Source: Financial Times