Here's an unusual Thessalian bronze I was drawn to because of its very visibly imperfect appearance. I'm not even talking about flan crack or the flat-featured obverse, but rather what happened when the blank flan was produced... The coin is an example of the earliest bronze coinage of Pherai, where "the large module and use of bivalve cast flans suggests the influence of the contemporary bronze of Syracuse" (Hoover, Handbook of Coins of Northern and Central Greece). If Syracuse was indeed the source of inspiration for this method of flan production, the technique was apparently not learnt very well judging by how commonly the two halves of the flan ended up being misaligned. On mine, the misalignment is a little more obvious than on most, which was the very reason why I wanted it. As far as I'm concerned, if something is already so bad as to be good, then the badder it is the better . One other interesting feature shows up between 1 and 2 o' clock on the reverse - a distinctively-shaped channel that allowed molten metal to run into the mould hollow when the blank was made. Subsequent bronze issues of Pherai seem to have done away with this type of flan manufacture and they're all better produced, if to my mind less interesting. While I do like the devices used here (who doesn't like a facing portrait and a lion head fountain!), of even greater appeal to me is the clear evidence of the mint workers struggling, experimenting, and only partially succeeding in the production of the coin. Please feel free to show anything you think is appropriate! THESSALY, Pherai AE Trichalkon. 8.81g, 21.2mm. THESSALY, Pherai, circa 404-369 BC. Rogers 511, fig. 277; BCD Thessaly II 687.2; HGC 4, 564. O: Head of Hekate or nymph Hypereia facing slightly left. R: Lion's head fountain to right, with water pouring from mouth. EX BCD Collection
Very cool coin @zumbly ! I like the Lion's head a lot, and the color/patina is really attractive to me. Gosh, I have only ONE from Thessaly, so I really do not have a lot to contribute. I really like this one: Thessaly Larissa 344-337 BCE AR Obol 0.68g Nymph Larissa Horse Grazing SNG Cop 1
That's a very unusual bronze @zumbly, and the flan misalignment makes it interesting. Thessaly produced some beautiful coins, and the design on this coin is very attractive. Especially the nymph!
Very nice!! I have the reverse opinion than Bing: The NYMPH is Nice but I LOVE the LION I only seem to have one of Thessaly---the Larissa type....
@zumbly : "One other interesting feature shows up between 1 and 2 o' clock on the reverse - a distinctively-shaped channel that allowed molten metal to run into the mould hollow when the blank was made. Subsequent bronze issues of Pherai seem to have done away with this type of flan manufacture and they're all better produced, if to my mind less interesting. While I do like the devices used here (who doesn't like a facing portrait and a lion head fountain!), of even greater appeal to me is the clear evidence of the mint workers struggling, experimenting, and only partially succeeding in the production of the coin. " However, I do have some cool early flan features: Sicily Syracuse AE 12-10mm 1.4g Female Hd - Octopus BMC 249 Sicily Syracuse Timoleon Third Deocracy 344-317 BCE AE Hemidrachm Zeus Thundrbolt Etruria or Umbria Aes Grave 3rd C BCE Sextans 23mm 25-15g Club-2 Dots HN 54 Vecchi-Th 172 RR AE Aes Grave Sextans 270 BCE 37mm 55-28g Dioscuri R and L
Those are some really cool examples! I particularly like the aes grave Sextans and Syracuse hemidrachm.
Thanks! It's a pity Steve is not back yet, or we'd be getting to see a good number of his beautiful Thessalian coins. This other one from Pherai I have is not pretty, but it is rare and pretty interesting! THESSALY, Pherai Rare. Repaired. AR Hemiobol. 0.27g, 8.3mm. THESSALY, Pherai, circa 360s-350s BC. BCD Thessaly II 694; Imhoof-Blumer 1908, p. 93, 277, pl. VI, 38; see also Nomos 4, 1306 corr. O: Head of Ennodia right: R: Φ-E, hunting dog sitting right. Ex BCD Collection The obverse has a portrait of the Thessalian goddess Ennodia, whose chief centre of worship was the city of Pherai. Ancient writers identified her with Artemis and Hecate, and like them, she was often shown bearing a torch and in the company of a dog. Ennodia's name means "the one on the road", and she was a goddess of witchcraft, ghosts, poisons and childbirth. In later centuries, the worship of Ennodia spread to Argos, Kolophon, Macedonia, Sikyon, and also Athens, where the cult of Artemis Pheraia was attested to by Pausanius.
cool chunky little coin! that lion has sharp details, but the wear on the nymph has that haunting but beautiful thing going on. i'll post this coin, which is my most obvious two halves not matching example.
Very unusual coin, me like. congrats zumbly another roman republic as , misaligned , cracks, holed but still looks OK , imho.
Thanks for sharing those examples. These RR bronzes do seem to have gotten their halves misaligned quite often.
