Sale: CNG 81, Lot: 2015. Estimate $500.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 20 May 2009.  Sold For $525. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

PHLIASIA, Phlious. Late 6th-early 5th centuries BC. AR Obol or 1/12 Stater (1.07 g). Human leg bent to right / Incuse square divided into six irregular compartments. BCD Peloponnesos 79 (same dies). VF, lightly toned, light porosity. Extremely rare.

Ex BCD Collection (not in LHS sale).

Phliasia, once a district of Achaia, is primarily known for its principal city, Phlious. Located on the river Asopus, near the juncture of the Argolid, Achaia, Arcadia and Corinthia, its acropolis, known as Trikaranon, commanded one of the subsidiary roads leading to Corinth. The city was also renowned for a sacred stone omphalos, which its inahabitants revered as the center of the Peloponnesos. During the Persian Wars, a contingent of 200 Phlians served at Thermopylai; a thousand were later deployed to Plataia. The town was the setting for Plato's Phaedo. Although it incurred the Spartan's wrath in 383 BC and was compelled to withstand a lengthy Lakedaimonian siege, Phlious remained a loyal ally of Sparta. With the loss of Spartan supremacy, Phlious eventually joined the Achaian League.