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Nomos
| Issuer | Tarentum |
|---|---|
| Year | 280 BC - 272 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Nude male youth on horseback galloping to right, his body turned in three-quarter view, extending his right arm forward to brandish a lighted torch; the horse is depicted in full gallop with all four legs extended. The Greek legend ΘΗΡΑΚΛΗΙ appears in the lower field along the exergual line, rendered in archaic letterforms. The composition exhibits the vigorous, dynamic style characteristic of Tarentine die engravers of the early third century BC. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Taras, the eponymous founder-hero of Tarentum, seated to right astride a dolphin leaping over waves, draped in a chlamys over his shoulders; he raises his right hand to brandish a dart and holds two additional darts in his lowered left hand. A kantharos appears in the lower field below the dolphin, and a monogram is positioned to the left and below the central device. The reverse type invokes the city's mythological foundation legend and is rendered with refined, high-relief workmanship typical of the Tarentine nomos series. |
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| Additional information |
Tarentum's final decades of independence were dominated by the disastrous decision to invite Pyrrhus of Epirus into southern Italy in 280 BC — the opening year of this issue's production range. The city's coinage continued throughout the Pyrrhic War, funding mercenary operations and alliance payments, until Rome's capture of Tarentum in 272 BC ended the mint's autonomous output entirely. Vlasto 816 places this piece within a well-documented late series, the fabric and style reflecting the pressure of wartime production without significant degradation in die quality.