Triton XV, Lot: 523. Estimate $200. Sold for $7000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

THESSALY, Pelinna. Mid 4th century BC. Æ Dichalkon (18.5mm, 4.57 g, 6h). Helmeted and cuirassed Thessalian rider, wearing short tunic and chiton, charging with couched lance on prancing horse to left; border of dots / [Π]EΛΙИИAEIΩИ from top, r. and down centrally, Mantho, veiled and draped, standing facing, head turned to her r., holding her open box with her l., and gesturing with her lowered r. to the half image of her blind father Tiresias who emerges from the underworld holding a dagger with his r. Rogers 428a, fig. 232 corr. [the coin’s poor quality allowed Rogers to see only Mantho’s figure]. Near VF, dark brown patina and quite clear; a fascinating coin, eloquently portraying the myth of the seer Tiresias; probably the best known of the few in existence and the only one in private hands.

The interpretation of this type was the subject of a captivating lecture by Professor Aliki Moustaka in the 1997 Berlin Numismatic Congress, which received a standing ovation. Professor Herbert Cahn who was sitting in the row in front of the writer was beaming; when he was congratulated for the superb lecture of his student he replied that it was especially meaningful to him as this was probably the last Congress he would attend. Cahn died in 2002, one year before the Madrid Congress. The several coins that illustrated Prof. Moustaka’s presentation were subsequently donated to the Athens Cabinet.