426, Lot: 113. Estimate $75. Sold for $55. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

THESSALY, Orthe. Late 4th-early 3rd centuries BC. Æ Trichalkon (14mm, 3.24 g, 10h). Helmeted head of Athena right / ΟΡΘΙΕΙΩΝ, forepart of horse emerging right from rocks from which grows an olive tree; all within wreath. Georgiou, Coinage, 3rd Period, 50 (O18/R27); Rogers 421; BCD Thessaly II 500; HGC 4, 697. VF, rough dark green patina.

From the BCD Collection.

Ancient Thessaly was so intricately tied with the equestrian arts that both were believed to have been created at the same time. According to myth, the Thessalian plain was once covered by water. After Poseidon struck the ground with his trident, the mountains split to form a channel, the waters receded, and the first horse Skyphios burst forth.