Pelinna

Triton XV, Lot: 508. Estimate $150. Sold for $3250. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Pelinna (IACP 409)

Pelinna, modern Palaiogardiki, is known for its 5th century BC acropolis walls, which are connected to 4th century BC walls surrounding a lower city. There are some well-preserved remains of towers, gates; those of civic buildings and temples are much less so. Citizens of Pelinna are known to have been Olympic victors. The city was pro-Macedonian. Its quarrel with Pharkadon resulted in Philip II’s destruction of the latter city. There is some very rare early 5th century BC silver coinage from Pelinna, but the primary issues of silver and bronze are late 5th and early 4th centuries BC. There are also some bronze coins, surely much later and conventionally dated to 196-146 BC.

THESSALY, Pelinna. Mid 5th century BC. AR Obol (9.5mm, 0.94 g, 3h). Bull’s head facing, to r. and behind, half figure of hero to l., his r. arm over the bull’s neck and his l. hand below the bull’s muzzle; all in dotted circle / ΠE in ligature above l., Λ sideways lower r., IN upwards at bottom l, bridled horse’s head and neck l., in incuse square. Liampi, Corpus, p. 109, 1, pl. 5, 19 (these dies, but this coin an earlier strike). Near VF, lightly toned, a great rarity.

Liampi, in her corpus, lists a total of three known taurokathapsia obols for Pelinna. Out of these, the pierced “BMC 10” coin has since proved to be an issue of Perrhaiboi and not of Pelinna. This leaves three known Pelinna taurokathapsia obols, one in the BM, one in a private collection and this coin as the third one, not known to Liampi, all from the same pair of dies.