Thrace. Thasos. 500-480 BC. AR Stater (9.56g). Le Rider 2; Franke-Hirmer 435. Old cabinet tone. Perfectly centered and struck on a broad flan. Choice extremely fine. From a European private collection; former F.D. collection; The Numismatic Auction 1983 (2) lot 71
The overtly sexual displays seen on Greek coins can be disconcerting to the modern eye, viewing them through the lens of centuries of Christian fulminations against 'paganism' and its erotic excesses. These scenes are at their most graphic in northern Greece, showing the interplay of nymphs and satyrs.