The Colin E. Pitchfork Collection of the Coinage of Thourioi

CNG 87, Lot: 133. Estimate $150. Sold for $140. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

LUCANIA, Thourioi. Circa 443-400 BC. AR Nomos – Stater (20mm, 7.49 g, 4h). Helmeted head of Athena right, helmet decorated with wreath / Bull standing left; Γ below; in exergue, fish right. HN Italy 1759; SNG ANS 879 (same dies). Near VF, toned, some porosity.

From the Colin E. Pitchfork Collection. Ex UBS 59 (27 January 2004), lot 5095 (part of).

In 446 BC, with the aid of Athens, the refugee population of the destroyed city of Sybaris returned to the location of their previous home, and founded a new city, giving it the name Thourioi. The new city quickly regained the prosperity enjoyed by its former incarnation, as evidenced by the extensive series of coins it issued over the following two centuries. Good relations with Tarentum were probably responsible for the weakening of Thourioi’s historical connection to Athens, and she turned to Sparta during the Peloponnesian War. Although supported by Tarentum, the city suffered at the hands of the Lucanians and Brettians during the 4th century BC. In need of a more robust ally, the Thourians turned to Rome in 285 BC. Unlike many cities in southern Italy, Thourioi’s support of Rome was steadfast during both the time of Pyrrhos and Hannibal’s invasion, even though the Thourians suffered heavily at the hands of the latter. The coinage of Thourioi was diverse in both its denominations and metals. The primary types were the head of Athena, probably due to the city’s initial close relationship with Athens, and a standing or butting bull, which had been the civic type on the coins of Sybaris.

Classical Numismatic Group is pleased to offer another selection of coinage from Magna Graecia from the Colin E. Pitchfork Collection. As with his previously offered collections of the cities of Tarentum (CNG 81), Metapontion (CNG 82), Neapolis (CNG 84), and Velia (CNG 84), this selection of issues from Thourioi contains a variety of issues, some rarely seen at auction, and many with pedigrees.