Triton XV, Lot: 638. Estimate $1000. Sold for $16000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

THESSALY, Pharsalos. Last quarter of the 5th century BC. AR Drachm (21mm, 6.09 g, 12h). Head of Athena r., wearing Attic helmet with raised cheek pieces; in small letters behind neck, T[H] / Φ-A to l. and r. above, Σ-P retrograde, to l. and r. below, Thessalian cavalryman on horse prancing to r., wearing petasos, chlamys and short chiton, holding a lagobolon over his r. shoulder; in exergue TH in small letters; all in circular, slightly concave field. Lavva 82 b (V42/R47) (this coin). EF, lightly toned and perfectly centred; some faint linear die flaws on obv. field, an impressive coin with an especially clear reverse. Both dies crafted by the master die cutter Telephantos.

A detail of these coins that rarely comes up perfectly struck is the face of the rider. Here we can see that he is quite young, without a beard and with rather long hair falling down to his neck in straight strands. Both he and the horse, its features also very sharp and clear, seem to take... hare hunting quite seriously.