KINGS of THRACE, Odrysian. Sparadokos. Circa 450-440 BC. AR Obol (10.5mm, 1.19 g, 3h). Forepart of horse left; retrograde B at truncation, ΣΠ A around / Eagle flying left, holding serpent in its beak; all within incuse square. Peykov B0040 var. (no retrograde B); Topalov 63 var. (same); SNG Copenhagen 1065-7 var. (same). VF, toned, minor porosity. Very rare with letter on horse.
Sparadokos was the first of the Odrysian kings of Thrace to strike coinage. The use of the eagle suggests he occupied the Macedonian city of Olynthos and struck his coins there. Sparadokos and his brother and co-ruler Sitalkes commanded an impressive cavalry force which posed a constant threat to the neighboring kingdom of Macedon, a threat that did not recede until Philip II defeated the last independent Odrysian kings, Kersobleptes and Teres II, in 341 BC. Although frequently mentioned by ancient historians such as Thucydides, the full history and chronology of the Thracian kings remains uncertain – an uncertainty that may become clarified as more coins of these rulers surface.
