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GREEK, ITALY, CALABRIA, Taras. Circa 510-500 BC. AR Incuse Nomos
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8,03 g; 24 mm; 11 h
Phalanthos riding dolphin right, extending left arm, holding dolphin with right hand; crowning Nike to left; shell below
Rv. Incuse of obverse, but ethnic in relief.
HNItaly 826; Vlasto 68. The first issue of Tarentine coinage. Very rare. Lightly toned and in fine archaic style, extremely fine. According to Vlasto, it is the last type of the Tarentine incuse series.
I got this great piece from an auction last fall and it was the most important acquisition for me.
This Taras incuse stater is more compact and thicker than Kaulonia and Sybaris incuse staters. It was double (or triple) striked and the details were hard to detect. We can found slight trace on the Taras’s head and his left hand. I believe this is the reason that the pattern looks very sharp while the high points (such as dolphin’s eyes and tail ) are flat.
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