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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;ancientnut, post: 2441711, member: 73212&quot;]<img src="https://www.sixbid.com/images/auction_images/2770/2337745l.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p><br /></p><p>Thurium, Lucania AR double nomos, c 410-400 BC</p><p><br /></p><p>I am so excited about winning this coin I will post it before it arrives! It has problems, mainly the corrosion resulting in the loss of an edge piece and small pits scattered around both sides, especially the reverse. But the beauty and artistry of the die engraving absolutely amazes me! It might help to enlarge it before you take my detailed tour of the imagery:</p><p><br /></p><p>OBVERSE: Perfectly centered, with the crest of the helmet and the Greek letter theta (above Athena’s forehead) complete, and only the tip of Athena’s chin missing. Her face has classical, well-defined features, framed by wavy hair which might suggest the waves off the coast of Thurium (Thanks to Eric Kondratieff for this observation). The bristles in the helmet crest are separately defined and are fastened into double curved lines, the outer dotted or beaded, the inner solid (compare with the exergual lines under the bull on reverse). On the lower neck guard of the helmet is a crouching, right-facing griffin, a mythological creature with the body, tail and back legs of a lion; the head and wings of an eagle; and eagle talons for front feet. On the bowl of the helmet is a fabulous depiction of Skylla, the sea monster Odysseus’ ship encountered on his journey back from the Trojan War, where she devoured six of his sailors. Her head, with fine details in the face, ear, and hair, rises in front of the bristles and curved lines of the helmet crest, as does her left arm, which is raised as she scans the sea for more ships to terrorize. I’m still trying to determine the significance of the squiggly line between her left forearm and head: perhaps it represents her vision projecting out as she looks for her next meal to appear?! Her lower body is sea serpent-like with spikes atop the curve and ending in a fish tail. Look closely for a detail I had missed until I read a description of her: the heads of two dogs protruding from her waistline! Her right hand lies across the front dog; the ear of the second is right under her left elbow. The dogs’ heads are probably what actually ate sailors.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://www.theoi.com/image/P27.1Skylla.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p><br /></p><p>REVERSE:</p><p><br /></p><p>Slightly off-center with half the fish at the bottom, the bull’s horns, and part of the tail loop off the flan. A dynamic and powerfully rendered bull, with wonderful detail especially in the legs and hooves. He is also well endowed, with hair trailing from the penis sac and portions of the scrotum showing behind and in front of the rear leg. His beard, with its flowing lines, trails behind with the tip showing between his belly and his bent right front leg. He stands on double exergual lines, the upper one solid, the lower one dotted (Compare with the double lines attaching the bristles to Athena’s helmet).</p><p><br /></p><p><i>Ex: Ira &amp; Larry Goldberg Auction 91, June 7, 2016, lot 1772.</i></p><p><i>Ex: Hess-Divo AG Auction 317, October 27, 2010, lot 27.</i></p><p><i>Ex: M&amp;M Deutschland Auction 10, March 22, 2002, lot 147.</i>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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