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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;ab initio, post: 2571186, member: 80317&quot;]Back in the 60&#039;s I saw literally many hundreds of them, mixed with a smaller number of Perseus tetradrachms and a few other Pergamene and other Asia Minor and (slightly more worn) Seleucid tetradrachms. This was just after this &quot;Larissa&quot; hoard was found, wrongly called at the time the &quot;Sitochoro&quot; hoard.</p><p>&nbsp;The story has as follows: A truck was carrying one of many loads of excavated earth from a site near the ancient acropolis of Larissa and unloading it into an empty plot of land downtown Larissa. The purpose of this was that there would eventually be enough earth in that plot of land to ensure adequate foundations for future building. There was a gas (petrol) station next to that plot of land and it happened that at that time there were two workmen high up on a ladder trying to repair the Neon sign of that station. It was late afternoon, just before the end of their working day and one of the two guys saw something glittering from the rays of the sun in the land next door. They both went to investigate and saw the hoard amongst the rubble. They then filled their loose rubber boots with as many coins as these could carry and also their pockets and tool bags. The next day they returned and carried away what they could find of the hoard&#039;s remainder. From their homes at the Sitochoro village near Larissa they sold a few coins, mostly by size, without being able to put prices on individual specimens. A middleman living in Larissa heard of this and was able to secure the vast majority of the hoard by paying them a price they thought was attractive. It was at this middleman&#039;s home that, a few days later, I was able to inspect what must have been the vast majority of the hoard. The pile of coins was at least 75 cms high and covered most of the surface of a round table with a diameter of at least two meters. At that time I did not buy any of these coins as they were outside my collecting interests but was able to examine all the different types included in the hoard and keep mental notes of approximate numbers that were then transferred to paper. This information was forwarded to Martin Price, the then curator of Greek coins at the British Museum. As the discovery facts were not known to the middleman at that time, he thought that the hoard was found at Sitochoro.</p><p>Weeks later, some of the ERMIAS Rhodian pieces appeared in the Athens flea market, selling for 900 drachmas each (at that time there were 30 drachmas to the US dollar). I bought a pair of nicely centered ones and had them mounted in gold to make an attractive pair of earrings for my girl friend. I hope she still has them. </p><p>Apologies for the long post but I hope it was an interesting story. It also explains why most of these coins are still &quot;ex Sitochoro&quot; and not &quot;ex Larissa&quot; hoard. The Larissa hoard was eventually published by the late Martin Price many years later.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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