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Drachm
| Issuer | Larissa (Thessaly) |
|---|---|
| Year | 479 BC - 460 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Deeply recessed incuse square divided into four triangular sections by diagonal raised lines meeting at the centre, forming a characteristic early Greek mill-sail or windmill pattern within the square. The ethnic legend ΛΑΡΙΣΑΙΟΝ is inscribed clockwise around the interior of the incuse square, reading from the upper left, with the archaic Greek letters distributed across the four quadrants: ΛΑΡ along the top, Ι on the right, ΑΙΟ along the bottom (retrograde), and Ν-Σ on the left side. The incuse technique and the disposition of the legend reflect the early transitional phase of Thessalian civic coinage. The square border is sharply defined, its raised edges forming a prominent frame within the irregular flan. |
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| Reverse lettering | ΛΑΡΙΣΑΙΟΝ |
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| Additional information |
Larissa's coinage from this period emerged as the city consolidated influence over the Peneus plain following the Persian withdrawal from Thessaly after Plataea. The region's aristocratic families — particularly the Aleuadae, who had controversially medized during Xerxes' invasion — were actively rehabilitating their political standing, and a confident civic coinage was part of that recovery. These early drachms predate the more celebrated heavy series and are struck on a Thessalian weight standard slightly lighter than the Aeginetan norm.
The fabric is notably thick and dumpy relative to the diameter, a consistent trait of this early Larissaean production.