Numismatica Ars Classica
Auction 124 23 Jun 2021
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Pharsalus.
Drachm late 5th-mid 4th century BC signed by the engraver T(elephantos), with his initial on the obverse and the reverse, and with those of Ip...on the obverse, AR 6.11 g Head of Athena r., wearing single pendant earring and crested Attic helmet adorned with tendril, an eagle's wing behind which a snake coils and a palmette on the visor; behind neck-guard, Τ / Ι – Π. Rev. [Φ] – Α / Ρ – Σ (last two letters retrograde) Thessalian cavalryman on prancing horse l., wearing petasos, chlamys and chiton, and holding a lagobolon over his right shoulder; below, Τ. All within shallow incuse square. KF 194 (this coin). Lavva 108a (this coin). Kunstfreund 194 (this coin). BCD Thessaly 1, 1287 (this coin).
Rare. A coin of spectacular quality and exquisite style perfectly struck and centred
on a full flan, lovely old cabinet tone and extremely fine
Ex Leu-M&M 28 May 1974, Gillet 194 and Nomos 4, 2011, BCD, 1287 sales.
This spectacularly beautiful drachm was struck in the late fifth and fourth century BC, possibly in the context of growing conflicts between Pharsalus and Pherae for control of the Thessalian League. In the aftermath of the Persian invasion of Greece (480-479 BC), Larissa was punished for the medizing of its leading citizens and Pharsalus became the dominant city of the league and is said to have directly ruled a number of lesser Thessalian cities and villages. Pharsalus and the tyrants that ruled it were frequently in competition with the city and tyrants of Pherae, who wished to lead the Thessalian League themselves. The Pharsalian tyrants successfully managed to resist Pheraean attempts to supplant them until 375/4 BC, when Polydamas, the tyrant of Pharsalus, was abandoned by his allies during a conflict with Jason, the tyrant of Pherae. Left with little other choice, Polydamas accepted Jason and Pherae as the new leaders of the Thessalian League. However, when Jason was murdered in 370 BC, the fear of a resurgent Pharsalus was so great that this Polydamas and the other important men of Pharsalus were executed by the Pheraeans. Pharsalus (and Thessaly in general) was only freed from Pheraean domination after the defeat of a combined Pheraean and Phocaean army by Philip II of Macedon at the Battle of Crocus Field in 353/2 BC. The present coin features the head of Athena wearing an extremely ornate Attic helmet on the obverse and a representation of a mounted Thessalian hunter on the reverse. The lagobolon that the hunter carries suggests that he is hunting rabbits or other small game. His mounted aspect and wide-brimmed petasus clearly identify him as a Thessalian. The engravers were justifiably proud of their work and have signed both the obverse and reverse dies. The signing of the dies combined with details of the helmet decorations on other Pharsalian issues has led to speculation that the skilled engravers of the drachm series may have come from Sicily or Magna Graecia.
Drachm late 5th-mid 4th century BC signed by the engraver T(elephantos), with his initial on the obverse and the reverse, and with those of Ip...on the obverse, AR 6.11 g Head of Athena r., wearing single pendant earring and crested Attic helmet adorned with tendril, an eagle's wing behind which a snake coils and a palmette on the visor; behind neck-guard, Τ / Ι – Π. Rev. [Φ] – Α / Ρ – Σ (last two letters retrograde) Thessalian cavalryman on prancing horse l., wearing petasos, chlamys and chiton, and holding a lagobolon over his right shoulder; below, Τ. All within shallow incuse square. KF 194 (this coin). Lavva 108a (this coin). Kunstfreund 194 (this coin). BCD Thessaly 1, 1287 (this coin).
Rare. A coin of spectacular quality and exquisite style perfectly struck and centred
on a full flan, lovely old cabinet tone and extremely fine
Ex Leu-M&M 28 May 1974, Gillet 194 and Nomos 4, 2011, BCD, 1287 sales.
This spectacularly beautiful drachm was struck in the late fifth and fourth century BC, possibly in the context of growing conflicts between Pharsalus and Pherae for control of the Thessalian League. In the aftermath of the Persian invasion of Greece (480-479 BC), Larissa was punished for the medizing of its leading citizens and Pharsalus became the dominant city of the league and is said to have directly ruled a number of lesser Thessalian cities and villages. Pharsalus and the tyrants that ruled it were frequently in competition with the city and tyrants of Pherae, who wished to lead the Thessalian League themselves. The Pharsalian tyrants successfully managed to resist Pheraean attempts to supplant them until 375/4 BC, when Polydamas, the tyrant of Pharsalus, was abandoned by his allies during a conflict with Jason, the tyrant of Pherae. Left with little other choice, Polydamas accepted Jason and Pherae as the new leaders of the Thessalian League. However, when Jason was murdered in 370 BC, the fear of a resurgent Pharsalus was so great that this Polydamas and the other important men of Pharsalus were executed by the Pheraeans. Pharsalus (and Thessaly in general) was only freed from Pheraean domination after the defeat of a combined Pheraean and Phocaean army by Philip II of Macedon at the Battle of Crocus Field in 353/2 BC. The present coin features the head of Athena wearing an extremely ornate Attic helmet on the obverse and a representation of a mounted Thessalian hunter on the reverse. The lagobolon that the hunter carries suggests that he is hunting rabbits or other small game. His mounted aspect and wide-brimmed petasus clearly identify him as a Thessalian. The engravers were justifiably proud of their work and have signed both the obverse and reverse dies. The signing of the dies combined with details of the helmet decorations on other Pharsalian issues has led to speculation that the skilled engravers of the drachm series may have come from Sicily or Magna Graecia.