Larissa Trihemiobol - I think

OK, I purchased this small coin I felt certain was a Larissa Trihemiobol, but I'll be darn if I can find anything like it in my references. The obverse shows a nymph facing right, while the reverse shows a horse about to roll right along with the letters (mostly worn away) Delta Alpha. It measures at 12mm and 1.4g which is consistent with Trihemiobols of the period. I sure could use some help on this one. I know it's not pretty and the silver is crystallized, but I wanted a coin from Larissa. So that is that, eh?

 

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CNG's archives has a match and it sold for a whopping 30x estimate

Looks like yours may have the same obverse die.

http://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=198895



Triton XV (January 3, 2012), Lot: 274. Estimate $100.
Sold for $3000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

THESSALY, Larissa. Early to mid 4th century BC. AR Trihemiobol (13mm, 1.46 g, 4h). Head of the nymph Larissa r., wearing pendant earring / ΛΑΡΙ above, [Π]ΛΕΙ in exergue, crouching horse to r., about to roll. Not in Herrmann but see Otto Helbing 24 October 1927, 2890 (same obv. die). Near Fine, unevenly toned, the surfaces a little granular. A very rare denomination.

 

There's only one more in CNG's archives, sold December 5, 2012:

http://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=224060



292, Lot: 92. Estimate $100.
Sold for $425. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

THESSALY, Larissa. Circa 370-360 BC. AR Trihemiobol (12mm, 1.38 g, 10h). Head of the nymph Larissa right, wearing pendant earring / ΛAPI above, ΠΛE in exergue, horse right, about to roll. BCD Thessaly II 274 (same obv. die; hammer of $3000). Fine, lightly toned, minor porosity. Very rare denomination.

From the BCD Collection.

...

I don't see any in acsearch.

 

Holy cannoli @Bing !

 

Thanks @TIF. I didn't look in CNG because I found nothing like it in acsearch or wildwinds. I just figured it wouldn't be there. I should have known. Those prices on CNG are crazy. Everyone knows I'm an old skinflint and wouldn't think of paying anything close. In fact much, much less. I'm embarrassed to say how little I paid. At least I now have a reference. As Steve might say, you're the queen of coins around here (no offense intended to our other ladies here - you're all princesses to me). Again thanks so much.

 

Woah, nice find JW!

 

It it possible that some examples might be in acsearch. I used search terms "Larissa, trihemiobol". Perhaps the denomination was listed differently in some cases.

 

Nice little silver, JW. Need one of the type too.

 

I tried different denominations such as obol (the seller's description) and hemiobol. Nothing like it.

 

turn around and sell it for 3 grand!

i love finding a cool little rare coin in the bargain bin, congrats to you bing!



here's my recent rare/bargain bin find. i paid 20 bucks for the lot iof 10 coinsi t came in i think. not sexy, but interesting.






Tetrarchy of Chalkis, Coele Syria, Lysanias, 40 - 36 B.C.
O; female bust, R: double cornucopia, flanked by ligatures, 22 x 24 mm, 5.4 g

 

Nice find Chris, and you are correct about finding something decent for a bargain. Although, I have to admit, I had no idea what I had exactly. If I even thought I could get 3K, I would sell it and buy a lot of coins with the proceeds. Alas, I have a hard time thinking anyone might pay that kind of money for this coin.

 

The other expression for trihemiobol would be 1/4 drachm. I believe all three are from the same dies and the $3000 was not a fluke but a sign that two rich people realized that the coin was not obtainable normally. I'd call Bing's purchase a coup of considerable proportions. If it appeared in a CNG level sale I suspect it would sell well despite the wear but you should keep it and let it develop a demand. Worst known is not bad when you add 'of three'.

 

Sounds good when it's put that way. I have to wonder why there are so few.

 

I have two coins both called obols when they appear in polite sales. The first weighs 0.8g while the second weighs 0.6g. The difference between the types is always in that direction. Sometime we see the first called Persic standard but I really do not know what the people in Larissa called their denominations. Collectors tend to force Athenian standards on coins which were not struck with that in mind. We have seen quite a few of the heavier ones recently making me wonder if there was a find which could have contained the Bing bonanza as well. Larissa does not have many boring coins.

 

When I posted my Larissa obol some weeks ago, I recall you saying you didn't have anything from the city and needed to rectify that. Well, you sure did it in style... it's a great catch and I'm jealous! And I suppose I'll just treat this as an excuse to post my coin again ...


THESSALY, Larissa
AR Obol. 0.95g, 11.4mm. THESSALY, Larissa, circa 440-400 BC. BCD I -; BCD II -; CNG EAuction 292, 5 December 2012, 38 (same obverse die?); cf. BMC 24. O: Horse to right; above, crescent to right; below, dolphin to right. R: Λ - A, the nymph Larissa striding left, bouncing a ball off the ground with her right hand; all within shallow incuse square.

 

I, for one, would love to hear the rest of the story that led to the $3000 realization. Perhaps someone bid $70103 and was embarrassed to beg off but I really think it was intentional by someone who knew and cared.

Zumby's coin suggests someone needs to reevaluate what we call an obol. Did they strike in every standard current in the world?

 

Nice coin Bing, good catch. And thats a crazy price for the coin, you got a steal.

 

Bing: It is listed in Hoover, Volume 4 under "trihemiobols (c. 1.5g)" on page 146, number 474. It is listed as R2 = Very Rare...3-24 extant examples!

 

Those new to the concept of weight standards might enjoy this summary:
http://www.seleukidtraces.info/information/daehn

It includes a table which demonstrates if nothing else why collectors need not wonder why some coins are different in weight that we might have hoped. The article also discusses a bit of the why/how some of these things came to be the way they are.
Name of Standard Standard Unit Weight (gm)
Achaean stater (3 drachma) 8.0
Aeginetan stater (didrachm) 12.2
Asiatic tetradrachm 13.3
Attic tetradrachm 17.2
Campanian stater (didrachm) 7.5
Chian tetradrachm 15.6
Cistaphoric tetradrachm 12.6
Corcyrean stater (didrachm) 11.6
Corinthian stater (3 drachma) 8.6
Euboeic stater (didrachm) 17.2
Lycian stater (didrachm) 8.6 to 10
Milesian electrum stater 14.1
Persian gold daric 8.35
Persian siglos 8.35 or 8.55
Phocaic electrum stater 16.1
Phoenician shekel (didrachm) 7.0
Rhodian tetradrachm 13.2 or 15.2
Samian tetradrachm 13.1
Sicilian litra 0.86
Thraco-Macedonian various various
Adapted from Jones, Dictionary; and Kraay, ACGC. All silver unless noted.

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-30001716