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Triobol
| Issuer | Argos |
|---|---|
| Year | 420 BC - 370 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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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Large incuse letter Alpha (Α) dominating the central field, with two small incuse squares positioned above the crossbar. The letter Pi (Π) appears to the left of the Alpha, serving as an abbreviation for the city of Argos. A chelys (tortoise-shell lyre) is depicted below the crossbar of the Alpha. The entire design is set within a shallow concave circle, consistent with the incuse technique employed on Argive hemidrachms of this era. |
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| Mintage | ND (420 BC - 370 BC) |
| Additional information |
Argos sat out the early years of the Peloponnesian War under a fifty-year peace treaty with Sparta, but by 420 BC had realigned with Athens, Mantinea, and Elis in a quadruple alliance that Thucydides considered one of the most serious threats to Spartan hegemony of the period. The triobol — a half-drachm denomination — was the workhorse of small-scale commerce and mercenary pay throughout the Argolid during precisely these decades of shifting alliance and intermittent warfare.
Argos suffered a catastrophic defeat at the Battle of the Nemea River in 394 BC, after which Spartan influence over the city fluctuated until the Theban victories of the 370s finally broke it.