Sale: Nomos 3 & 4, Lot: 1330. Estimate CHF400.  Closing Date: Monday, 9 May 2011.  Sold For CHF6500. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

THESSALY, Rhizos. Circa 352-344 BC. Chalkous (Bronze, 13mm, 1.69 g 11). Head of Artemis to right, wearing earring, necklace and with her hair tied in a bun at the back. Rev. Ρ-Ι-Ζ-Ο-Υ-Σ-Ι-Ω within the rays of an eight-pointed star. Rogers 536. Extremely rare. A splendid, gem-like coin of superb style, with a fine, dark green patina. Minor edge nick on the reverse, otherwise, nearly extremely fine.

A note from BCD: This small Rhizos denomination is much rarer than the previous coin and is probably struck earlier: its reverse design derives from the early obols of Lokri Opuntii (see BCD Lokris-Phokis 7).ASW would disagree with that since while the coins of Lokri Opuntii have stars on their reverses, these stars do not really have letters within their rays in a systematic way (just Λ and Ο on opposite sides). More likely parallels, with letters arranged between the rays of a star or something similar, might be from Orchomenos in Boiotia (as BCD Boiotia 225) or Megara (as BCD Peloponnesos 3): those coins are roughly contemporary wih this coin from Rhizos. BCD said “derives” not “contemporary” as ASW thinks was implied.