Stater

Thourioi was a Panhellenic foundation — planted in 444/3 BC on the site of destroyed Sybaris by a coalition of Greek settlers, with Athenian backing and, according to ancient sources, Herodotus himself among the early colonists. The city's silver coinage became one of the more prolific issues of Magna Graecia, circulating widely through a region under increasing pressure from Lucanian tribes pushing down from the interior through the late fourth century.

By the early third century, Thourioi's independence was effectively over. The city appealed repeatedly to outside powers — first Sparta, then eventually Rome — as Italic neighbors closed in. Staters struck toward the end of this range were likely produced under conditions of political instability rather than civic confidence.