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Trihemiobol
| Issuer | Metropolis |
|---|---|
| Year | 350 BC - 330 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 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 | Apollo Musegetes, depicted in full figure striding to the right, robed in a long chiton, his head turned slightly forward. He holds a kithara before him with both hands and is shown in the act of playing the instrument, his fingers engaged with the strings. The figure is rendered with careful attention to drapery and movement, conveying the god's divine musical role. The ethnic legend ΜΗΤΡΟΠΟΛΙΤΩΝ arcs around the field, identifying the issuing civic authority of Metropolis in Thessaly. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Metropolis was a minor Thessalian city whose coinage output was limited even by the modest standards of the region's smaller poleis. The trihemiobol — one and a half obols — is an awkward denomination that saw use in Thessaly more than elsewhere in the Greek world, likely reflecting local market customs rather than any broader monetary integration. These decades bracket the period of Macedonian encroachment into Thessaly under Philip II, who effectively reduced the Thessalian League to a client institution by the 340s.
The BCD references here are significant: the BCD Thessaly collection was the definitive private holding of Thessalian bronzes and silvers, and its dispersal at auction in the 2000s established the benchmark attributions still used today.