THASOS
Circa 500-480 BC
AR Drachm (4.65 g, 16mm).
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Struck: Circa 500-480 BC.
Obv: [no legend]
Nude ithyphallic satyr running right, carrying protesting
nymph.
Rev: [no legend]
Quadrapartite incuse square.
Ref: Le Rider, Thasiennes 3; HPM pl. 10, 6; Traité I 1748;
SNG Copenhagen 1014.
Pedig: Ex Classical Numismatic Group 75 (23 May 2007), lot 105.
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Notes: Dating of this issue via analysis of Asyut Hoard by Price and Waggoner. The obverse type is a variation of a nymph-satyr theme that dates to the beginning of Thraco-Macedonian coinage.
In addition to being from the earliest Greek myths, both the satyr and nymph are associated with Dionysos, who was the prominent deity of Thasos, which was important in the wine trade. Although the
type is prevalent elsewhere, and no certain ethnic appears on these coins, hoard analysis supports their attribution to Thasos, which also had prolific silver mines.
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