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Research Coins: Electronic Auction

 
311, Lot: 299. Estimate $200.
Sold for $700. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

THESSALY, Pherai. Circa 460-440 BC. AR Drachm (19mm, 5.87 g, 9h). The hero Thessalos, nude but for petasos and chlamys, seen in background, holding band around the head of a forepart of bull charging right; ΓΛA (retrograde) to upper left / Φ–E–R–A–I, bridled horse cantering right on dotted ground line; to upper left, lion’s head fountain spout with water pouring from its mouth; all within incuse square. BCD Thessaly II 682 (same rev. die). VF, toned.


From the BCD Collection. Ex Sotheby’s (22 April 1970), lot 132.

A note from BCD from the Triton sale: Various cataloguers have given their own version of the three letter inscription on the obverse die of this coin. This writer suggests that the above three retrograde letters read ΓΛΑ, as they appear on the obols (see lot 677 above). They are also very clear on the obverse of the Künker 94, 764 specimen of the same dies where it is evident that the archaic A is not a P as some cataloguers thought (it would be R and not P anyway). The die cutter was probably called Glaukos or some other name starting with GLA. What is more interesting is that Pherai apparently employed one more artist for their taurokathapsia obols, XAN, who also cut dies for the coins of Krannon (see Nomos 4, 1300, 1077, and 1079, but not 1078 where ASW got carried away and mistook the trident for these letters).