TYPE Ancient Greece, Miletos (Ionia), mid-6th c. BC, silver twelfth stater, 1.11g DESCRIPTION . Obv: Forepart of roaring lion left, head turned back (right) Rev: Elaborate 4-part stellate pattern in incuse square REFERENCE: SG 3533 GRADING: VF+ / AEF, slightly porous, toned ORDER INFO: G1672, $90 A charming affordable coin, issued a mere century after the advent of coinage, featuring in fine style one of the quintessential early motifs - the head of a roaring lion. Very nice specimen, unusually well centered, with the scarcer "reverse" lion orientation. Additionally interesting for it makes apparent that the obverse shows the forepart of a lion (with body and foreleg facing right), with head turned, all in the tradition of the earliest electrum coinage from Western Asia Minor, including the very locale of Miletos.