Roma Numismatics Ltd
E-Sale 99 7 Jul 2022
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Corinthia, Corinth AR Trihemidrachm. Circa 375-330 BC. Bellerophon on Pegasos flying to right; Ϙ below / Chimaera standing to left, right forepaw raised; ΔI between hind legs, amphora in exergue. Warren, Trihemidrachms, Group V. A.1.2 (same obv. die); SG 2632; BMC 319; Roma 5, lot 194 (hammer: £3,200). 3.25g, 17mm, 4h.
Very Fine; somewhat porous, pleasant old cabinet tone. Extremely Rare.
From the Terner Collection.
An exceptional issue of mythological and historical interest that uses both sides of the coin to narrate the story of Corinth's most famous son, who slew the feared Chimaera - a monster that Homer depicts as possessing a lion's head, goat's body and a serpent for a tail, whose breath 'came out in terrible blasts of burning flame'. The Chimaera, being impervious to Bellerophon's attacks even when mounted on Pegasos, required an inventive weapon - mounting a block of lead on the end of his spear, Bellerophon lodged the lead in the Chimaera's mouth so that when it breathed fire the lead melted and blocked its airway, suffocating it.
The collector BCD stated that Warren, in Essays Robinson p. 137, gives a possible production date for this coin that is far too early, with the style and flan indicating that it cannot be dated before the very end of the 5th century BC. He further suggests that "the issue is exceptional enough so that an allusion to the Aegospotamoi victory that was the final blow to the Athenians in the Peloponnesian war is a distinct possibility".
Very Fine; somewhat porous, pleasant old cabinet tone. Extremely Rare.
From the Terner Collection.
An exceptional issue of mythological and historical interest that uses both sides of the coin to narrate the story of Corinth's most famous son, who slew the feared Chimaera - a monster that Homer depicts as possessing a lion's head, goat's body and a serpent for a tail, whose breath 'came out in terrible blasts of burning flame'. The Chimaera, being impervious to Bellerophon's attacks even when mounted on Pegasos, required an inventive weapon - mounting a block of lead on the end of his spear, Bellerophon lodged the lead in the Chimaera's mouth so that when it breathed fire the lead melted and blocked its airway, suffocating it.
The collector BCD stated that Warren, in Essays Robinson p. 137, gives a possible production date for this coin that is far too early, with the style and flan indicating that it cannot be dated before the very end of the 5th century BC. He further suggests that "the issue is exceptional enough so that an allusion to the Aegospotamoi victory that was the final blow to the Athenians in the Peloponnesian war is a distinct possibility".