I really enjoy the archaic Peloponnesian coin design convention of using a locally prominent animal as the main obverse design and an incuse / letter for the reverse. Some examples of this convention are the sea turtle of Aegina, the dove of Sikyon and (as shown here) the wolf or Argos. These 5th century issues are not very common so I was pretty happy to pick this one up for near opening bid last year. ARGOLIS, Argos Triobol AR, struck ca. 450-430 BC. Dia.: 14 mm Wt.: 2.84 g Obv.: Forepart of wolf left, ΣO beneath head Rev.: Large A, pellet below, two shallow incuses above, all within shallow incuse square. Ref.: BCD Peloponnesos 1030. From Savoca 138th Silver Auction, lot 61 (July 17, 2022) I enjoy coins from the Peloponnesian War period and this coin is about as good as I will be able to get for representing Argos. Argos played a role in the war as the only Peloponnesian polis not aligned with Sparta which meant that the threat of an Athenian alliance was always present. Argos did not strike very many large demonination coins, such as drachms, in the 5th century. This is probably because the economic fortunes of the city took a beating in 494 BC when almost all men of military age were killed by the Spartans in the Battle of Sepeia. The massacre was so complete that the Spartans even committed sacrilege by burning down a sacred grove of trees in which the survivors of the battle were seeking sanctuary in order to kill them all. Over 6,000 hoplites from Argos were killed in total. It took Argos generations to rebuild its hoplite population. Because of this both the influence and the economy of Argos tended to be more regional. These triobols served as the primary and largest denomination coin struck by Argos in the lead up to the Peloponnesian War. The wolf was a common animal in the Argolid plain in antiquity. The cult of Apollo Lyceius (wolf-god) was prominent in the city. There was a temple of Apollo Lyceius directly adjacent to the Agora as well as a statue of a wolf and bull whose story was described by Plutarch: “when Danaüs first landed in the country, near Pyramia in the district of Thyreatis, and was on his way to Argos, he saw a wolf fighting with a bull; and conceiving that he himself was represented by the wolf (since both were strangers and were attacking the natives), he watched the battle to its end, and when the wolf had prevailed, paid his vows to Apollo Lyceius (the wolf-god), attacked the city, and was victorious, after Gelanor, who was at that time king of Argos, had been driven out by a faction. This, then, was the significance of the dedication.” Please post your coins of Argos, wolves, the Peloponnese or anything you think is relevant!
ARGOLIS, ARGOS AR Hemidrachm OBVERSE: Forepart of a wolf left REVERSE: Large "A", eagle below "I-E/P-W/NO-S" = Hieron (Magistrate) Struck at Argos,90-40 BC 2.25g, 15.5mm BCD Peloponnesos 1177 Ex Aegean Numismatics
