>> Ancient Greek Coins - #Greek-30772
272-235 B.C. - Nomos
Coin Type :ANCIENT GREEK Date :B. C. 272 - 235
Denomination :NOMOS Metal :SILVER
Ruler :GREEK - CITY STATES Certificate Number :MD-30772
Mint :TARENTUM
Country :CALABRIA (Top of the inside heel part of ancient Italy)
THE FAMOUS BOY ON A DOLPHIN COIN
Obverse: Naked horseman/boy riding right.
Reverse: TAPAS below Taras astride dolphin left.
The reference used for this coin is The Collection of Tarentine Coins formed by M. P. Vlasto.
Numerous Greek Colonies were established in southern Italy in the centuries preceding the introduction of coinage, the earliest foundations dating from the 8th Century B. C. The first coins appeared circa 530 B. C. and were of the curious brockage-type fabric, the obverse design being repeated, more or less exactly on the reverse though concave instead of in relief. It has been suggested that the invention of this unique method of coin production could have been the brainchild of no less a celebrity than the famous Samian mathematician Pythagoras, who migrated to Italy at about this time. Taras was known to the Romans as Tarentum.
In this ancient tale of tragedy at sea, Taras, the young son of Poseidon, is aboard a ship that sinks in a raging storm. Menacing sharks circle the helpless youth and when all seemed lost, the man-eating threat flees because of the swift attacking pod of dolphins, which have come to the rescue. According to ancient legend Taras was put safely ashore in southern Italy where he subsequently founded the city of Tarentum. |
