Very Rare Early Tarentine Nomos

Sale: CNG 82, Lot: 140. Estimate $5000.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 16 September 2009.  Sold For $7000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

CALABRIA, Tarentum. Circa 510-500 BC. AR Nomos (7.92 g, 12h). Phalanthos on dolphin right; shell below / Incuse of obverse, but ethnic in relief. Fischer-Bossert group 1, 6 (V6/R5); Vlasto 67 (same dies); HN Italy 826; SNG ANS 826 (same dies); Pozzi (Boutin) 299 (same dies). Good VF, toned. Great metal for issue. Very rare.

Ex Dix, Noonan, Webb A3 (27 September 2007), lot 2044.

According to tradition the Spartan colony of Taras (mod. Taranto), known as Tarentum by the Romans, was founded in 706 BC under the leadership of Phalanthos. The city derives its name from Taras, the son of Poseidon and a local nymph, Satyra. It adopted a democratic form of government circa 475 BC, and thereafter became the leading Greek city in southern Italy. Its success led to continual difficulties with its neighbor cities, and on four occasions Tarentum required expeditions from Greece to help overcome its enemies. The last of these expeditions was led by the famed Epeirote, Pyrrhos. Following his withdrawal from the city, Tarentum was occupied by the Romans. Tarentum was among the early cities of Magna Graecia to strike coinage, employing the incuse type that was the hallmark of the first Italian coinages. Taras’ prosperity is exemplified by its vast coinage known today which was continuous from 510 BC until the end of the Second Punic War.