THESSALY, Larissa Kremaste
AE Chalkous. 1.80g, 13.2mm
MINTED: THESSALY, Larissa Kremaste, 3rd century BC
REF: BCD Thessaly II 405.1-2 (same obv die as 405.1, same rev die as 405.2); HGC 4, 17 (S)
OBVERSE: Nymph’s wreathed head left; [I and Π] in field.
REVERSE: ΛΑΡI, harpa with hook turned to left, in wreath tying below; to left, tiny ram’s head downwards.
 
Notes:
Dark black-green patina.  Well-centered, and with a bold, deeply-struck reverse.   
The harpa, or harpe, was an ancient Greek sword with a protrusion along one edge of its blade.  The weapon features in various Greek myths, such as that of the Titan Kronos, who used it to castrate his father, Uranus.  Hermes and Hercules were also known to have wielded a harpa on occasion.   Perhaps the most recognized use of it was by the hero Perseus, who used the adamantine harpa given to him by Zeus to sever the head of the Gorgon Medusa.  Some coins of Larissa Kremaste feature Perseus holding his harpa and Medusa's head.  On this coin, the harpa itself takes center stage. 
 
Provenance:
Ex BCD Collection, with his tag noting, "Ex Thess. thr. V. Jan. 94, SFr. 75"
The BCD Collection was possibly the largest and most important private collection of Greek coinage ever assembled.  Over the course of five decades, the collector, known publicly by the initials BCD, acquired over 50,000 coins representing the major cities and regions of ancient Greece.  An accomplished numismatist, BCD studied not just the historical context but also the art and chronology of the coins, with some of the results of these studies eventually finding their way into the notes he provided for the catalogues of the sale of his coins.  Many of these published catalogues are now used as the standard references for the regions they cover.  A provenance to the BCD Collection is one of the most desirable that a Greek coin can possess.
 
Historical Notes:
Thessaly in central Greece was a region of fertile, grassy plains ringed by mountains, with Mount Olympus serving as a backdrop.  Unlike other Greek regions which tended to cultivate primarily olives and grapes, Thessaly was best known for its magnificent horses, cattle, agriculture, and sports such as bull-wrestling.  
 
The walled city of Larissa Kremaste (the epithet meaning "hanging" in Greek) was situated on a hill at the base of Mount Othrys in Thessaly.  According to its mythological tradition, it was the birthplace of the great Greek hero, Achilles, who is depicted on most of its coinage.