Sale: Nomos 8, Lot: 139. Estimate CHF450.  Closing Date: Monday, 21 October 2013.  Sold For CHF900. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

THESSALY, Pharkadon. Circa 440 BC. Hemidrachm (Silver (plated), 15mm, 2.03 g 7). Thessalos, striding right and with his cloak and petasos over his shoulders, using both hands to hold a band around the head of the forepart of a bull rushing right. Rev. ΦΑΡ - [Κ]ΑΔΟ Forepart of bridled horse to left, the reins trailing; below horse to left, sandal. BCD -. BMC -. SNG Greece 6, 232 (same reverse die?). Apparently unpublished. Toned and well struck. Plated and with a break on the obverse edge where the base metal core can be seen, otherwise, nearly extremely fine.

From a European collection, formed before 2005.

As BCD pointed out in his notes to Triton XV, 617 and 777 the hemidrachms of Pharkadon and Trikka were extensively forged in the 5th century BC. Interestingly enough their quality of workmanship is very high, implying a degree of official complicity in their manufacture (or, at least, that the mint workers who made genuine coins during the day, may have worked on their own at night!) What is particularly intriguing about this coin is the addition of Jason’s sandal as a symbol on the reverse, a unique feature. This was not noted in the description of the Alpha Bank piece (originally in the Andreopoulos Collection) but it is clearly there (I would also like to thank Dr. D. Tsangari, Curator of the Alpha Bank Collection, for examining their piece and confirming that it is also plated).