Fine Style Thourioi Nomos
LUCANIA, Thourioi. Circa 443-400 BC. AR Nomos (21mm, 7.89 g, 4h). Head of Athena right, wearing crested Attic helmet decorated with laurel wreath; Γ above visor / Bull standing left, head lowered, on plain ground line; ΘOYPIΩN above; in exergue, fish right. Jörgensen 15 var. (letter also on rev.); HN Italy 1759 var. (same); SNG Gale 746 var. (same; same obv. die); Gillet 248 = Pozzi 226 var. (same; same obv. die). Beautifully toned, minor reverse doubling. In NGC encapsulation 4284629-002, graded XF
★, Strike: 5/5, Surface: 5/5, Fine Style, die shift. A handsome piece in sculptural high relief.
From the Gasvoda Collection. Ex David Freedman Collection (Roma VIII, 28 September 2014), lot 14 (further pedigree to CNG is erroneous).
Thourioi arose out of the ashes of Sybaris, which had been first besieged and destroyed by neighboring Kroton in 510/9 BC. Attempts to refound the city were foiled by Kroton over the next decades, until the refugees from Sybaris appealed to Sparta and Athens for help in gaining back their homeland. Athens sent ships, soldiers and colonists that were able to repel the Krotoniates, allowing the city to be refounded, now as Thourioi, circa 446/5 BC. However, the unhappy Sybarites were again driven out of the new city only a few years later. The new coinage of Thourioi would relate to both the support of Athens and to the foundation history of the original city. The helmeted head of Athena is the obverse type while the butting bull, recalling Sybaris, adorns the reverse. This specimen, perfectly centered and in a wonderful state of preservation, represents one of the earlier coins from the repopulated city.
