Unique Tetrobol

CNG 106, Lot: 323. Estimate $300. Sold for $450. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

AEOLIS, Larissa Phrikonis(?). 4th century BC. AR Tetrobol (15mm, 2.82 g, 10h). Laureate head of Apollo right / Eagle, with spread wings, flying upward, head left; club to lower left. Unpublished, but cf. CNG 79, lot 318 for an obol from this issue. VF, toned, slight roughness. Apparently unique as a tetrobol.

A few obols of this type are known and have usually been attributed to Larissa Phrikonis. The attribution to this city is conjectural and is based largely on the fact that these do not fit among the coinages of the other known cities named Larissa. An example in Gorny & Mosch 212, lot 1951, was attributed to Larissa ad Kaystros in Ionia, but the reasoning is equally conjectural. The appearance of the present coin, the first tetrobol for the issue, adds some evidence to the puzzle. The style of the head of Apollo and the fabric of the flan are consistent with various other city coinage in the 4th century Troad, supporting the attribution to Phrikonis.