Sale: Nomos 3 & 4, Lot: 1138. Estimate CHF375.  Closing Date: Monday, 9 May 2011.  Sold For CHF4500. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

THESSALY, Larissa. Circa 356-342 BC. Trihemiobol (Silver, 1.11 g 3). Head of the nymph Larissa to right, wearing a single-pendent earring and with her hair rolled and bound with a thin ribbon. Rev. [ΛΑΡ]Ι Half-length and bearded bust of Asklepios to right, drapery over his left shoulder and around his waist, his left hand raised, holding a sickle. Apparently unpublished. Extremely rare. Corroded surfaces and with minor marks on the obverse, Very fine.

A curious coin. The reverse is very similar to the bull’s hoof/Asklepios obol, but it is not quite the same stylistically. The weight, given this piece’s corrosion, may indicate that this was originally meant to be heavier and is, thus, a trihemiobol. The style of the obverse, which bears a bare head of Larissa, rather than one with a sakkos, as with the drachms, indicates that this coin is later than they are.