IONIA. Magnesia ad Maeandrum. Antoninus Pius, 138-161. Pentassarion (?) (Orichalcum, 33 mm, 25.33 g, 8 h), Dioskourides Gratos Metro, grammateus, circa 139-144. Τ ΑΙΛ[ΙΟС Κ]ΑΙСΑΡ ΑΝ[ΤΩΝЄΙΝΟС] Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Antoninus Pius to right, seen from behind. Rev. [... ΔΙΟСΚΟYΡΙΔΟY M]HTP ΜΑΓΝΗΤΩΝ Themistokles seated to left, holding shield set on his knees with his right hand and sword with his left; behind, forepart of horse to right, head to left. Gorny & Mosch 181 (2009), 1773. Naumann 11 (2013), 410. RPC IV online -. Schultz -. Very rare and of great historical interest. Very worn as usual, otherwise, nearly fine.


The reverse of this very rare issue shows the Athenian general Themistokles, who defeated the Persian fleet at Salamis in 480 BC. When he was exiled in the late 470ies or early 460ies, the Persians gave him the cities of Magnesia ad Maeandrum, Myus and Lampsakos as a hereditary principality. The Magnesians were proud of their heritage: Plutarch reports that the philosopher Themistokles, with whom he corresponded in the late 1st or early 2nd century AD, claimed to be a descendant of the Athenian general and reported that his family still received benefits from the polis.