Larissa dominated the Thessalian plain through much of the fourth century, its wealth built on horse-breeding and grain — the city supplied grain to Athens during crises and fielded the finest cavalry in Greece. Bronze civic coinage of this type served the local market while silver issues handled long-distance trade, a functional split that kept the bronze circulating close to home and accounts for the wear patterns typically seen on survivors.
The BCD collection, from which the reference lot derives, remains the benchmark assemblage for Thessalian bronze; Rogers' earlier typology has been substantially refined by HGC 4 in assigning these pieces to Larissa proper rather than outlying Thessalian mints.
Larissa dominated the Thessalian plain through much of the fourth century, its wealth built on horse-breeding and grain — the city supplied grain to Athens during crises and fielded the finest cavalry in Greece. Bronze civic coinage of this type served the local market while silver issues handled long-distance trade, a functional split that kept the bronze circulating close to home and accounts for the wear patterns typically seen on survivors.
The BCD collection, from which the reference lot derives, remains the benchmark assemblage for Thessalian bronze; Rogers' earlier typology has been substantially refined by HGC 4 in assigning these pieces to Larissa proper rather than outlying Thessalian mints.