Hemidrachm

Pharsalos was one of the most powerful poleis of Thessaly during the fifth century, its aristocratic clans — particularly the Skopadai — controlling vast agricultural wealth from the surrounding plains. The city maintained its own coinage independently of the Thessalian League's federal issues, a reflection of how reluctantly the great Thessalian cities submitted to collective authority. Hemidrachms of this type are scarce relative to the city's historical prominence, likely because local bronze displaced small silver in everyday transactions earlier here than elsewhere in the region.