Countermarked Drachm
Published by Lorber

292, Lot: 47. Estimate $300. Sold for $900. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

THESSALY, Larissa. Circa 450/40-420 BC. AR Drachm (18mm, 6.07 g, 4h). Youthful hero Thessalos, his petasos and chlamys hanging around neck, restraining bull right by band held around its head; c/m: monogram consisting of small “K” and large “A” within rectangular incuse punch / ΛA above, PIΣA (retrograde) below, bridled horse prancing right on bumpy ground line; all within incuse square. Lorber, Thessalian -; BCD Thessaly II - (but cf. 367.1 for obv. die); BCD Thessaly I -; Lorber, “Thessalian Countermarks,” Travaux Le Rider, Countermark F, p. 230, 1 and pl. 20, 3 (this coin). Good VF, lightly toned, light scratches or graffito (“X”) in lower right field of obverse.

From the BCD Collection. Ex Sotheby’s (9 December 1993), lot 113 (part of). 1989 ‘Unknown Findspot’ Hoard (CH IX, 65).

A note from BCD from the Triton sale (following lot 369.2): The countermark “... probably signifies ΚAΛON (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.”