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Stater
| Issuer | Mesma |
|---|---|
| Year | 330 BC - 317 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 | Helmeted head of Athena facing left, rendered in fine archaic-influenced relief. She wears a Corinthian helmet pushed back on her head, with a prominent bowl-shaped skull piece and a wide neck guard descending behind; the cheek guards are raised to reveal her facial features. Locks of hair escape beneath the helmet rim and curl gracefully at the neck. Small pellets appear as decorative elements on the cheek guard and helmet surface, and flowing acanthus-like ornamental scrollwork adorns the bowl of the helmet, adding elegance to the warrior goddess's portraiture. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Mesma was a small Bruttian settlement whose independent coinage output was limited almost entirely to this single stater type, issued during a period of acute instability in the toe of Italy as Oscan-speaking peoples consolidated control over the region's Greek foundations. The city's numismatic record is effectively this coin — nothing before, almost nothing after.
The tight reference cluster across Ashmolean, Copenhagen, Fitzwilliam, and Pegasi reflects genuine rarity rather than collector indifference; surviving specimens are few enough that each major collection holds only isolated examples.