Triton XV, Lot: 540. Estimate $200. Sold for $500. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

THESSALY, Perrhaiboi. Circa mid 5th century BC. AR Hemidrachm (13.5mm, 2.73 g, 1h). Hero to r., with petasos and chlamys, seen behind the animal, holding a band with both his hands, passed around the forehead of a bull leaping to r. / ΠΕ-R-A retrograde from top r., down and circular, forepart of bridled horse to l., all in incuse square. Not found in references consulted, probably unpublished and possibly unique. Good Fine, toned with slightly porous surfaces; an old shallow cut on hero’s legs on the obv. and a die flaw on the edge of the incuse on the rev. at 4 o’clock.

Another example of improvisation on the taurokathapsia issues of Perrhaiboi. The bull, normally appearing on the hemidrachms by its forepart only, is here shown in its entirety and in the foreground rather than behind the bull wrestler. The fabric and style of this coin suggest a very early issue, if not the earliest, and this may be the reason for its departure from the later established norm.