Thrace. Ainos. Tetradrachm. Circa 400-370 BC (Silver, 26.51 mm, 15.67 g). Head of Hermes facing slightly left, wearing petasos. Rev. AINI - O[N], Goat standing right; before, lighted torch; all within shallow incuse square. BMFA 787. Warren 474. Traite’ II, 4, pl. CCCXLVI, 2 (same dies). May, Ainos, 342 (A206.1/P229). Cabinet toned. Few marks and minor surface roughness. A splendid example with an emotionally powerful facing head of Hermes. Extremely Fine. Rare. Ex Gorny & Mosch 207, 15 October 2012, lot 107. Unlike many other Greek cities tied to archaic numismatic traditions, Ainos had the freedom to innovate from the outset of its coinage. The city’s engravers made full use of this liberty, first introducing a profile of Hermes—the city’s patron deity—with a caduceus on the reverse, later replaced by a goat symbolizing his pastoral role. This beautifully struck coin features one of the finest depictions of Hermes, whose front-facing portrait exudes a calm nobility reminiscent of 15th-century Florentine aristocrats. With flowing curls and his petasus, he evokes the proud elegance seen in Gozzoli’s Procession of the Magi, making this small coin a true masterpiece of classical portraiture.