My latest purchase is another Larissian
obol (see below). On the
obverse is
Larissa’s profile to the left with a double headed ax in front and on the
reverse is Jason’s sandal to the right with the
legend Λ - Α above.
This new coin is very similar to the first Larissian coin (00001, also an
obol) I have in my
gallery, with two very notable exceptions: on my first coin of this
type (1) there is no double headed ax in front of
Larissa’s profile and (2) the rendition of the profile is of an archaic
style.
BCD dates the minting of my “archaic profile” coin (which was actually
his coin, sold in
BCD Thessaly I as Lot 1098) from c. 500 - 479 BC. In
BCD Thessaly II Lot 140 we find another
obol with
Larissa in profile and Jason’s sandal on the
reverse. Lot 140 has a double headed ax as on my new coin, but there are major differences on the
reverse: Lot 140 has the sandal facing left, a square within the
incuse, a four letter
legend ΛΑRΙ that is retrograde and upside down, and a sideways H on the groundline. BCD dates the minting Lot 140 to start where the “archaic profile” coin ends: c. 479 BC.
Where does my new coin fit in with this picture?
SNG Cop 90, dated to c. 500 - 479 BC, is an exact match for my new coin, but there is no double ax.
Weber 2826, dated to before c. 480 BC, would be an exact match if (1) the sandal was facing right.
Weber 2826 has the
legend Λ - Α on the
reverse but the digitization of the plate doesn’t allow me to actually see the
legend or its placement vis-a-vis the sandal. I wonder if the Λ - Α are retrograde and upside down like the
legend is on
BCD Thessaly II Lot 140, and I actually wonder if the
legend in the
catalog shouldn’t have been written as ΛΑ[RΙ]. Two letters or four letters?
I wondered if my new coin
had a
complete legend or if the
legend was incomplete and perhaps R - Ι were off
flan. On
BCD Thessaly II Lot 140 the Λ sits right above the top of the sandal that would wrap the ankle and the I is actually over the toe as a horizontal line. On my coin the Λ sits about halfway between where the sandal would wrap the ankle and the toe of the sandal, over which the Α just about sits. If I assume, and this is a BIG assumption, that the die engraver(s) were to fit the
legend over the sandal from heel to toe, then I could thereby assume that my new coin has a
complete legend of just two letters.
What was my question again? Oh, where does my new coin fit in?
I don’t really have any evidence for this, but if I assume that the two letter
legend predated the four letter
legend, then perhaps my new coin was a transitional
type minted sometime between, oh I don’t know, 490 - 480 BC. Now I’m kind of just guessing and I’ve exhausted myself.
Anyway, it’s a nice coin, although a
bit harshly cleaned, and I’m delighted to have it in my
collection.
Enjoy:
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=186281Tracy