Phliasia, Phlious, late 6th-early 5th Century BC, AR Obol or One Twelfth Stater

Bent leg right.
Incuse square divided into six irregular compartments.

HGC 5, 136; BCD Peloponnesos 78 (same dies); Gr. Mu. 803,pl. XIII, 24; Seltman, Athens, pl. XIV a (= NC 1890, pl. XIX, 21).

(8 mm, 0.91 g).
CNG; ex- BCD Collection

One of eighteen examples known.

The bent leg obols of Phlious are amongst the earliest coinage of the Peloponnesos. The coins were struck on the Milesian (Asiatic) weight standard with a stater of 14.1 gm, in contrast to the Aeginitic weight standard that came to prevail on the subsequent coinage and throughout the Peloponessos in the fifth century BC. This use of Milesian weight standard and the iconography of the bent leg, which has no later representation in the coinage of Phlious make for something of an enigma. The weight standard may reflect the dominant trade partners of Phlious at the time, while the bent leg is less readily explained. As a result of these enigmatic attributes, there has been controversy over attribution of this coin type. In the nineteenth century, the type was commonly attributed to Phaselis in Lycia. Subsequently, Seltman attributed the coinage as part of the Athenian Wappenmunzen series; specifically he attributed the type to the Alkmaeonid exiles of Athens in Phocis. However, recent studies refute these earlier attributions. Recorded find spots of all but one example have been in Phliasia or nearby Arkadia. This plus the fact that the largest associated denomination, a half stater bears the letter Φ make the attribution to Phlious certain. Eighteen examples of the type are known, one in each of the Berlin and London museum collections, twelve from the dispersal of the BCD collection and four others from other collections. Five obverse dies are accounted for in the series.