A rare 2000-year-old gold stater from the east coast of Crimea has been purchased in Zurich for a record-breaking SFr5.39 million (£4.8 million) with fees. It is now the most expensive ancient coin ever sold at auction.

The ancient Greek coin depicts a griffin holding a spear on the reverse and the head of a satyr on the obverse, unusually shown in a three-quarter position. “The head of the satyr is a marvel of speaking portraiture,” once wrote Godfrey Locker-Lampson (1875-1946), a British politician and notable coin collector. “That so much expression could be packed into so small a round would not be believed by anyone who had not seen it.”

Minted in the 4th century BC, the coin first circulated in the ancient Greek city of Panticapaeum as part of the Bosporan Kingdom. The satyr may refer to King Satyros I, who ruled the Greco-Scythian state from 432BC to 389BC, whilst the griffin represents the mythical guardians of Scythian gold. Experts believe the stater was crafted by a master engraver, due to the uniqueness of the satyr’s pose and the overall quality.

It once belonged to the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, but in 1934 the coin was sold by Joseph Stalin (1878-1953) to raise money for the Soviet government. Stalin pushed many museums in Russia to sell works of art, including masterpieces by Raphael (1483-1520) and Jan van Eyck (1390-1441). The stater is now thought to be one of only three of its kind in existence and the only one left in private hands.

Last week the Numismatica Ars Classica auction in Zurich soared above the total presale estimate of SFr11 million (£9.7 million), achieving SFr 21 million (£18.5 million). The private seller wished to remain anonymous. Speaking about the success of the auction, co-director of Numismatica Ars Classica Arturo Russo remarked “this is a sign the whole market for numismatics is flourishing, and is especially strong for ancients at the moment.” While the stater holds the new record for the most expensive ancient coin, the priciest coin ever sold at auction was a 1933 double eagle 20-dollar gold coin from the United States.