Larissa. Lot of 3 coins.

Triton XV, Lot: 369. Estimate $500. Sold for $1800. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Lot of 3 coins.

(369.1) THESSALY, Larissa. Early to mid 4th century BC. AR Drachm (19mm, 5.93 g, 6h). Thessalos to r., naked but for chlamys over his shoulders, his petasos attached to a cord around his neck and flying in the air behind him, holding a band with both hands around the forehead of a bull leaping r., all within a dotted circle / ΛΑΡΙ above, ΣΑΙΑ below, bridled horse with trailing rein prancing r., no ground line, all in shallow incuse square. Obolos 7, p. 21 (plate 2) 14 (this coin); Banque Populaire du Nord / Credit de la Bourse FPL (April 1987) 133 (same dies); Sotheby’s 24 April 1907 (Delbeke) 115 (same dies). Good VF, nicely toned, edge die slippage on obverse 5 to 6 o’clock, reverse corrosion near the edge at 4 to 6 o’clock.

Ex Hess 257 (12 November 1986) 101, hammer CHF 2100.


(369.2) THESSALY, Larissa. Early to mid 4th century BC. AR Drachm (18mm, 6.04 g, 12h). Thessalos to r., naked but for chlamys and petasos flying in the air behind him, holding a band with both hands around the forehead of a bull leaping r., all within a dotted circle; above, near the edge, countermark K in a small rectangle / ΛΑΡ above, ΙΣΑΙ below, bridled horse with trailing rein r., no ground line, all in a shallow incuse square. See Triton XIV (4 January 2011) 104 (same dies). VF, nicely toned, struck on an oblong flan, the reverse weakly struck and the die flaw on the obverse at the end of the bull’s r. hoof just showing inside the flan.

Acquired from Brian Kritt, November 1984, for $360; ex Stack’s 10 June 1970, 221.

The K countermark applied carefully on the edge of the obverse is also encountered on Trikka hemidrachms of the same period and signifies ΚΑΛΟΝ (i.e. good, meaning genuine in ancient Greek). From the amount of ancient forgeries that have come down to us it appears that there was a real problem with counterfeiters at that time, especially with coins that had a wide circulation like Larissa drachms and Trikka hemidrachms. The authentication authority that validated coins with this tiny countermark could either be an official service of the mint or a private money changer guaranteeing coins after examining them. For more details on this fascinating subject see C. Lorber, Thessalian Countermarks in Travaux de Numismatique Grecque offerts a Georges Le Rider, M. Amandry et al., (eds.), London 1999, p. 221 ff.

(369.3) THESSALY, Larissa. Early to mid 4th century BC. AR Drachm (19.5mm, 6.10 g, 9h). Thessalos to r., naked but for chlamys and petasos flying in the air behind him, holding a band with both hands around the forehead of a bull leaping r., all within a dotted circle / [Λ]ΑΡΙ above, ΣΑΙΑ below, bridled horse with trailing rein r., all in a very shallow incuse square. De Luynes 1836 (same obv. die but the rev. from a different hand, probably from the die-cutter of the rev. of lot 370.1 below); see also Naville - Ars Classica XVI (3 July 1933) 1109 (same dies). VF, toned and struck on a slightly elongated flan.

Acquired from Bowers and Ruddy (J. Spier), December 1980, for $650.