Kierion
Trihemiobol circa 360, AR 15 mm, 1.46 g. Head of nymph Arne r., wearing pendant earring and necklace. Rev. ΚΙΕΡΙ – IEΩΝ The nymph Arne kneeling r. on one knee, her head turned back, wearing drapery that leaves her nude to the waist, playing with knucklebones thrown from her r. hand and resting her l. arm on her l. knee. Traité IV, 511 and pl. CCLXXXIX, 1 (these dies). BMC 2 (these dies). BCD Thessaly 1, 1072 (this coin). Very rare. An attractive portrait of fine style and a lovely old cabinet tone. About extremely fine

Ex Nomos sale 4, 2011, BCD, 1072.

It was generally believed that the city of Kierion was originally founded as Arna (the name of a nearby river) by Aiolian Greeks. However, during the Greek Dark Age (c. 1100-800 BC), or 60 years after the Trojan War according to Thucydides, the Arnaians were driven out by the arrival of the Dorian Greek Thessalians. The dispossessed Arnaians then moved south to settle in the region of Boiotia while the Thessalian conquerors settled in Arna and renamed it Kierion. The obverse of this trihemiobol depicts the head of nymph Arne and the reverse features the nymph playing knucklebones. Knucklebones was a popular pastime in antiquity similar to the more modern game of jacks, involving the tossing and catching of sheep anklebones (astragaloi) that could involve gambling and divination. The depiction of Arne playing this game on coins of Kierion probably reflects the influence of the fifth-century obols of Larissa, which frequently carry types showing the local nymph playing ball.