Numismatica Ars Classica
Auction 116 1 Oct 2019
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The Perrhaiboi
Hemidrachm circa 450-400, AR 3.11 g. Nude youth trying to restrain bull r. Rev. Π – E Forepart of horse r.; all within incuse square. SNG Fitzwilliam 2429. Weber 2887 (these dies). BCD Thessaly I, 1239. BCD Thessaly II, 1158 (these dies).
Rare and in exceptional condition for the issue. A finely engraved and detailed die
sharply struck on excellent metal. Wonderful old cabinet tone, unobtrusive
die-break on reverse, otherwise good extremely fine
Ex Harlan J. Berk buy or bid sale 173, 2011, 134.
The Perrhaiboi inhabited the mountainous territory on the border between Thessaly proper and Macedon and were at various times absorbed into the political spheres of the Thessalian cities and dynasts and the Macedonian kingdom. The Perrhaiboi gained a poor reputation among the Greeks in 480 BC when they assisted the Persian army in negotiating the pass of Mount Olympus, thereby granting access to Thessaly and providing a foothold in Greece. In the fourth century BC, the Perrhaiboi paid tribute to Larissa and Alexander of Pherai and then to Philip II of Macedon in the course of the Third Sacred War (356-346 BC). The present hemidrachm, however, illustrates Thessalian influence over the Perrhaiboi in the fifth century. The types of the bull-wrestler paired with a horse reverse follow the model of contemporary issues of Thessalian cities like Larissa. It is unclear whether the use of shared types can be taken as evidence for the membership of the Perrhaiboi in a fifth-century Thessalian League.
Hemidrachm circa 450-400, AR 3.11 g. Nude youth trying to restrain bull r. Rev. Π – E Forepart of horse r.; all within incuse square. SNG Fitzwilliam 2429. Weber 2887 (these dies). BCD Thessaly I, 1239. BCD Thessaly II, 1158 (these dies).
Rare and in exceptional condition for the issue. A finely engraved and detailed die
sharply struck on excellent metal. Wonderful old cabinet tone, unobtrusive
die-break on reverse, otherwise good extremely fine
Ex Harlan J. Berk buy or bid sale 173, 2011, 134.
The Perrhaiboi inhabited the mountainous territory on the border between Thessaly proper and Macedon and were at various times absorbed into the political spheres of the Thessalian cities and dynasts and the Macedonian kingdom. The Perrhaiboi gained a poor reputation among the Greeks in 480 BC when they assisted the Persian army in negotiating the pass of Mount Olympus, thereby granting access to Thessaly and providing a foothold in Greece. In the fourth century BC, the Perrhaiboi paid tribute to Larissa and Alexander of Pherai and then to Philip II of Macedon in the course of the Third Sacred War (356-346 BC). The present hemidrachm, however, illustrates Thessalian influence over the Perrhaiboi in the fifth century. The types of the bull-wrestler paired with a horse reverse follow the model of contemporary issues of Thessalian cities like Larissa. It is unclear whether the use of shared types can be taken as evidence for the membership of the Perrhaiboi in a fifth-century Thessalian League.