Lamian War Issue?

292, Lot: 105. Estimate $300. Sold for $320. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

THESSALY, Larissa. Circa 344-337 BC. AR Drachm (20mm, 5.69 g, 11h). Head of the nymph Larissa facing slightly left, wearing ampyx and necklace / ΛAPIΣ above, AIΩN in exergue, horse right, about to roll; below, trident pointing diagonally to right. Lorber, Hoard phase L-IV; BCD Thessaly II 322. VF, toned, porous.

From the BCD Collection.

Lober’s phase L-IV drachms constitute a fairly compact emission and are characterized by the presence of a trident head below the horse. In a recent publication (“Thessalian hoards and the coinage of Larissa,” AJN 20 [2008], p. 128), she notes an interesting possibility: “The L-IV drachms were associated with coins of Alexander III in both CH 8, 193 and CH 9, 121 and it is tempting to link this late and apparently isolated issue with the Lamian War.” This would push the date down to 323/2 BC, to the time of the Lamian War (or Hellenic War), when Athens and her allies moved against the Macedonians in Thessaly in order to liberate Greece following the death of Alexander.