Numismatica Ars Classica
Auction 124 23 Jun 2021
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Larissa.
Drachm circa 370-360, AR 6.10 g. ΛΑΡΙΣΑ Head of the nymph Larissa l., hair bound at the top of her head, wearing triple-pendant earring and pearl necklace. Rev. ΛΑΡ - Ι- ΣΑΙ - ΩΝ Bridled horse trotting r., tail in a curl; beneath, in very small letters, ΕΠΙ. Lorber 2008, pl. 45, 100 var. BCD Thessaly 1, 1133 (this coin).
Extremely rare. A wonderful portrait of exquisite style struck in high relief,
lovely light iridescent tone and extremely fineδδδδδδEx Giessener Münzhandlung Dieter Gorny 44, 1989, 275 and Nomos 4, 2011, BCD, 1133 sales.
Larissa is most well known for its extensive coinage of silver drachms featuring the three-quarters facing head of the eponymous nymph, but this beautiful coin is an extremely rare case in which the die engraver has chosen to depict her in profile. Indeed, he seems to have been so concerned that his novelty in Larissaian coin design would not be easily recognized as the nymph Larissa that he added a small label in Greek to make it very clear that she was the nymph in question. Although the representation of Larissa here reflects the highest quality of the Classical engraver's art there was some good reason to worry that the nymph might not be recognized easily. Thessaly and the Greek world at large were full of coinages featuring the profile heads of unnamed nymphs. Prior to the introduction of the distinctive facing head type at Larissa in c. 404 BC, the city had also employed a profile type. The return of the late fifth-century BC type in c. 369-360 BC may be no coincidence. In 404 BC, around the time that the facing head type was introduced for Larissaian drachms, Larissa had fallen under the influence of Lykophron I, the tyrant of Pherai. The city was subsequently forced to recognize his successor, Jason of Pherai, as tagos of the Thessalian League. However, after Jason was assassinated in 370 BC, Larissa took a leading role in opposing the power of Pherai, ultimately splitting the Thessalian League between a faction led by the Aleuadai family of Larissa and another recognizing Jason's widely hated son, Alexander of Pherai, as the legitimate tagos. The reintroduction of the profile image of Larissa just after the murder of Jason seems to be a symbolic reassertion of Larissaian autonomy. It seems to ignore the developments of the preceding decades under Pheraian influence, pointedly picking up with a type that was in vogue at the end of the fifth century BC as if they had never happened. Nevertheless, despite the message indicated by the obverse type of this coin, by the 360s BC the facing head of the nymph had become so widely regarded as the type of Larissa that there really was no turning back the clock. All subsequent drachms of Larissa reverted to the facing head type, thereby making this coin an extreme rarity indeed.
Drachm circa 370-360, AR 6.10 g. ΛΑΡΙΣΑ Head of the nymph Larissa l., hair bound at the top of her head, wearing triple-pendant earring and pearl necklace. Rev. ΛΑΡ - Ι- ΣΑΙ - ΩΝ Bridled horse trotting r., tail in a curl; beneath, in very small letters, ΕΠΙ. Lorber 2008, pl. 45, 100 var. BCD Thessaly 1, 1133 (this coin).
Extremely rare. A wonderful portrait of exquisite style struck in high relief,
lovely light iridescent tone and extremely fineδδδδδδEx Giessener Münzhandlung Dieter Gorny 44, 1989, 275 and Nomos 4, 2011, BCD, 1133 sales.
Larissa is most well known for its extensive coinage of silver drachms featuring the three-quarters facing head of the eponymous nymph, but this beautiful coin is an extremely rare case in which the die engraver has chosen to depict her in profile. Indeed, he seems to have been so concerned that his novelty in Larissaian coin design would not be easily recognized as the nymph Larissa that he added a small label in Greek to make it very clear that she was the nymph in question. Although the representation of Larissa here reflects the highest quality of the Classical engraver's art there was some good reason to worry that the nymph might not be recognized easily. Thessaly and the Greek world at large were full of coinages featuring the profile heads of unnamed nymphs. Prior to the introduction of the distinctive facing head type at Larissa in c. 404 BC, the city had also employed a profile type. The return of the late fifth-century BC type in c. 369-360 BC may be no coincidence. In 404 BC, around the time that the facing head type was introduced for Larissaian drachms, Larissa had fallen under the influence of Lykophron I, the tyrant of Pherai. The city was subsequently forced to recognize his successor, Jason of Pherai, as tagos of the Thessalian League. However, after Jason was assassinated in 370 BC, Larissa took a leading role in opposing the power of Pherai, ultimately splitting the Thessalian League between a faction led by the Aleuadai family of Larissa and another recognizing Jason's widely hated son, Alexander of Pherai, as the legitimate tagos. The reintroduction of the profile image of Larissa just after the murder of Jason seems to be a symbolic reassertion of Larissaian autonomy. It seems to ignore the developments of the preceding decades under Pheraian influence, pointedly picking up with a type that was in vogue at the end of the fifth century BC as if they had never happened. Nevertheless, despite the message indicated by the obverse type of this coin, by the 360s BC the facing head of the nymph had become so widely regarded as the type of Larissa that there really was no turning back the clock. All subsequent drachms of Larissa reverted to the facing head type, thereby making this coin an extreme rarity indeed.