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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;zumbly, post: 2790648, member: 57495&quot;]Here&#039;s an unusual Thessalian bronze I was drawn to because of its very visibly imperfect appearance.&nbsp; I&#039;m not even talking about flan crack or the flat-featured obverse, but rather what happened when the blank flan was produced...&nbsp;&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>The coin is an example of the earliest bronze coinage of Pherai, where &quot;the large module and use of bivalve cast flans suggests the influence of the contemporary bronze of Syracuse&quot; (Hoover, <i>Handbook of Coins of Northern and Central Greece</i>).&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; On mine, the misalignment is a little more obvious than on most, which was the very reason why I wanted it.&nbsp; As far as I&#039;m concerned, if something is already so bad as to be good, then the badder it is the better <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>One other interesting feature shows up between 1 and 2 o&#039; clock on the reverse - a distinctively-shaped channel that allowed molten metal to run into the mould hollow when the blank was made.&nbsp; Subsequent bronze issues of Pherai seem to have done away with this type of flan manufacture and they&#039;re all better produced, if to my mind less interesting.&nbsp; While I do like the devices used here (who doesn&#039;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.&nbsp;&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Please feel free to show anything you think is appropriate!</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]648081[/ATTACH] </p><p><b>THESSALY, Pherai</b></p><p>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&#039;s head fountain to right, with water pouring from mouth.</p><p><i>EX BCD Collection</i>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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