Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Electronic Auction 369 24 February 2016
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WESTERN ASIA MINOR, Uncertain. 4th century BC. AR Hemiobol or Tetartemorion (6mm, 0.21 g, 8h). Crested helmet left, bowl ornamented with a serpent / Amphora within linear square. Unpublished in the standard references, but see CNG E-334, lot 152; CNG E-288, lots 258 and 259. VF, toned, struck off center on the obverse. Rare.
Varieties of this type have appeared at auction in the past, and have been tentatively attributed to Neandria in Troas, where an early fraction featured a helmet on the obverse. While an attribution to a mint in that region is reasonable, Neandria is probably not correct, as its early fractions consistently feature a ram or barley grain on the reverse, which were emblematic of the city. At the same time, the nearby city of Larissa consistently featured an amphora on the reverse of nearly all of its coinage, which would make it a more likely candidate.
Varieties of this type have appeared at auction in the past, and have been tentatively attributed to Neandria in Troas, where an early fraction featured a helmet on the obverse. While an attribution to a mint in that region is reasonable, Neandria is probably not correct, as its early fractions consistently feature a ram or barley grain on the reverse, which were emblematic of the city. At the same time, the nearby city of Larissa consistently featured an amphora on the reverse of nearly all of its coinage, which would make it a more likely candidate.