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Obol Hypata
| Issuer | Ainianes |
|---|---|
| Year | 360 BC - 350 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 | Military emblems in the field: a spear with point upward rendered diagonally across the upper portion of the flan, and below it a sword in its scabbard oriented horizontally with hilt to the right, both symbols of the Ainianes warrior culture. The ethnic inscription ΑΙΝΙΑΝ appears in Greek characters along the lower exergue, identifying the issuing community. The design is bold and schematic, consistent with Thessalian regional coinage of the mid-fourth century BC. |
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| Reverse lettering | ΑΙΝΙΑΝ |
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| Additional information |
The Ainianes were a Thessalian hill people whose coinage output was modest and chronologically compressed, making any survivor genuinely scarce. Hypata, their principal city, sits in the Spercheios valley at the foot of Mount Oeta — the same mountain range associated with the death of Heracles, a detail the Ainianes exploited heavily in their civic identity and coinage program.
The BCD collection reference here is significant: Basil Demetriadi assembled what remains the definitive hoard-based study of Thessalian bronze and silver, and the Ainianes section is thin by any comparison with neighboring Thessalian leagues.