THESSALY. Hypata. Circa 400-344 BC. Chalkous (Bronze, 14 mm, 3.62 g, 11 h). Laureate head of Zeus to right; behind, thunderbolt.
Rev. ΥΠΑ-Τ-Α-ΙΩΝ Athena standing facing, head to left, holding Nike in her right hand and spear in her left; to right at her side, shield; all within circular incuse. BCD Thessaly I -. BCD Thessaly II -. Classical Numismatic Group E-Auction 357 (2015), 59 (
same dies). Obolos 15 (2020), 163 (
same dies). Rogers -. Of the highest rarity, apparently the third and by far the finest known example. Struck from a slightly worn obverse die
, otherwise, very fine.
From a European collection, formed before 2005.
Despite the large number of Thessalian coins that have entered the market, particularly after the sale of the BCD collection, bronze pieces from Hypata remain among the rarest in all of Greek coinage. Only a handful of specimens are known to exist, and our example is the third recorded of this type - and by far the best preserved.
