Argolis, Troizen

Pentobol circa 450-425, AR 3.22 g. Archaic head of Athena facing. Rev. TPO Trident upright, all within incuse square. Traité III, 690. SNG Copenhagen 156. BCD –.
Of the highest rarity, apparently only the third specimen known and the only one in
private hands. An issue of exceptional rarity, missing from all the major collections,
including BCD. Old cabinet tone, minor area of weakness on obverse,
otherwise very fine

Ex NAC sale 92, 2016, 179. From an American private collection formed before World War II.
The children of Pelops and Hippodamia, the brothers Troizen and Pittheus ruled jointly over the cities of Hyperea and Anthea in Argolis along its northern coast, which after Troizen’s death Pittheos unified and renamed in honour of his brother. The city had mythological ties to Athens, whose king Aegeus had stopped off in the city and, while attending to business with king Pittheus, bedded the king’s daughter, Aithra, from which union the hero Theseus was born. Theseus, somewhat akin to Herakles, performed a number of impossible tasks, the most heroic of which was securing Athenian freedom from subjugation by King Minos of Crete, who previous to Theseus’ intervention had each year forced Athens to supply in tribute seven youths and seven maidens as food for his ghastly beast, the Minotaur, that he kept confined in his famous Labyrinth. During the fifth century B.C., Troizen was allied with Athens, providing material support in the form of ships and soldiers during Athens’ war with Persia, and prior to Salamis in 480 B.C. even provided a safe haven for the Athenian women and children at the request of the great Athenian statesman, Themistokles. Subsequently, however, Troizen was a member of the Peloponnesian League, and thus was allied with Sparta during its long wars with Athens (460-445 and 431-404 B.C.). This exceedingly rare coin offered here – which it should be noted was lacking from the famous BCD collection – is the very first emission from the city of Troizen, and depicts the un-helmeted facing head of Athena on the obverse, and Poseidon’s trident within an incuse square on the reverse. The ethnic appearing along the right side of the trident leaves no question as to the identification of the mint; but if that were not enough, we have the evidence of the second century A.D. travel writer and cultural geographer, Pausanias, who actually mentions this specific coin type some 600 years after it was struck! In the second book of his Description of Greece, he writes that during the reign of one of the earliest kings of Troizen, Althepos, „...they say, Athena and Poseidon disputed about the land, and after disputing held it in common, as Zeus commanded them to do. For this reason they worship both Athena, whom they name both Polias (Urban) and Sthenias (Strong), and also Poseidon, under the surname of King. And moreover their old coins have as a device a trident and a face of Athena“ (Paus., II.30.6).