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Stater
| Issuer | Tarentum |
|---|---|
| Year | 281 BC - 276 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Round (irregular) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A charioteer, identified tentatively as Taras, depicted facing right and driving a fast-moving biga (two-horse chariot). The figure holds the reins in the right hand and a trident in the left, evoking the city's divine founder and its maritime identity. A star appears in the upper field above the horses, and below the horses the magistrate's monogram KΛH appears above a downward-oriented dolphin in the exergual area. |
| Reverse script | Greek |
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| Additional information |
This issue falls within the period of Tarentum's alliance with Pyrrhus of Epirus, whose intervention against Rome was formally requested in 281 BC after Tarentum's navy sank Roman ships in violation of an existing treaty. The city's gold coinage expanded sharply during this window — gold was not Tarentum's habitual metal — driven by the need to subsidize Pyrrhic mercenary forces and maintain a war footing against an advancing Roman republic.
Vlasto's close sequencing of nos. 16 and 18 suggests at least two obverse die pairings within this emission, a detail worth noting for specialists tracking die linkage across the series.