LUCANIA. Thourioi. Circa 443-400 BC. Didrachm or Nomos (Silver, 23 mm, 7.90 g, 11 h), by Phrygillos. Head of Athena to right, wearing helmet adorned, on the bowl, with Skylla raising her left hand as if to shade her eyes as she looks off in the distance. Rev. ΘΟΥΡΙΩΝ Bull butting left; below, small bird alighting left; in exergue, fish to left. Basel 175 (this coin). HN Italy 1782. SNG ANS 787. SNG Lockett 479. Beautifully toned and struck on an exceptionally broad flan. Light die wear and with some corrosion on the obverse, otherwise, good very fine.


Thourioi was founded in 443 BC as a Panhellenic settlement near the once mighty city of Sybaris, which had been utterly destroyed by its rival Kroton in 510 BC. The colonists of the new apoikia included some prominent names: their leader Lampon was a friend of Perikles and the constitution was drawn by the sophist Protagoras. Perhaps the most famous citizen to the modern observer, however, was the historian Herodotos, who wrote his 'Histories' in Thourioi, where he was later also buried. The extensive series of didrachms struck in Thourioi spans more than two centuries from its foundation in 443 until its alliance with Hannibal in 212 BC. This beautiful, early example carries a small bird symbol on the reverse, which is believed to be a hidden signature of the famous Syracusan artist Phrygillos, whose name literally translates as 'fink' or 'sparrow'.