Triton XV, Lot: 141. Estimate $300. Sold for $1600. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

THESSALY, Larissa. 479/475 - circa 460 BC. AR Hemiobol (8mm, 0.28 g, 6h). Jason’s hat (petasos); border of dots / Λ-Α-R-Ι clockwise, in the four corners of an incuse square. Unpublished in the reference literature but see Frank Kovacs MBS 12 (30 November 1995) 53 for its first appearance. See also Nomos 4, 1100 but the reverse inscription on that coin reads anticlockwise. Good VF, lightly toned with orange hues, good surface for such a tiny coin.

A charming subject and a very rare coin. This writer remembers the moment when he first saw such a Larissa hemiobol. The seller did not know what was on the obverse but he knew that it was a rarity, as he had never seen one before. Fortunately, he was a reasonable individual and did not ask for an exorbitant amount of money. But the subject of this, unique at the time, fraction, was so delightful that even if he had added an extra zero at the end of the asking price it would have been impossible to refuse him.