GREEK. THESSALY, Larissa. Circa 356-342 BC. Silver Drachm (6.18g). Head of the nymph Larissa facing slightly left, wearing ampyx, pendant earring, and necklace / Horse grazing right; SAION above, LARI below. BCD Thessaly II 312; HGC 4, 454. Extremely rare variety with the civic legend arranged in the unusual swapped form, SAION above and LARI below the horse. A sharply struck and beautifully preserved example, Nearly Mint State. A particularly attractive specimen of this rare Larissan drachm issue. Ex Grand Haven Collection; acquired in early 2019 from an American collector who had purchased the coin privately from the Grand Haven Thessaly, Larissa Collection. The collector regarded this piece as among the finest and rarest coins in that collection, a view well supported by its remarkable quality, style, and preservation. In recent years, a number of coins from the Grand Haven Collection have appeared in CNG sales, further underlining the importance and depth of the collection from which this coin came. The coin was later sold by the American collector to Superior Galleries, and subsequently appeared in Herakles Auction 1, Savoca Coins, lot 20, where it realised AUD 8,200. This coin was among the final purchases made by our vendor before we were handed his collection for this sale and our upcoming ones.

Estimate: AUD 10000