Triton XV, Lot: 338. Estimate $200. Sold for $450. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

THESSALY, Larissa. Late 4th - early 3rd century BC. AR Hemidrachm (15mm, 2.31 g, 4h). Head of the nymph Larissa three-quarter facing l., her hair held by an ampyx; border of dots / ΛΑΡΙΣ above, ИΩΙΑ below, horse crouching r., preparing to roll, Ξ below the horse’s belly. See H. J. Berk FPL 1 (April 1974) 76 (same obverse die); see also CNG e-sale 192 (23 July 2008) 39 and Gorny & Mosch 108 (3 April 2001) 1191 for this form of Ξ on the rev. Good VF, toned, a small scratch on the last A of the rev. legend, otherwise well struck for the type and attractive.

Looking at the rev. edge of this coin, between 6 and 9 o’clock, one can see that it was struck at least twice while the end result hardly shows any double striking. This supports the theory that all ancient coins - at least of this general period - were struck a minimum of two times in order to achieve the desired result. On most, very careful examination will produce the evidence of this almost invisible double striking but, in coin descriptions, it is customary to only mention the cases where double striking is visible to the naked eye and somehow detracts from the coin’s appearance.