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The Fidelity of the Locrians

08. март 2019 12:07


The word pistis (= fidelity, faith, reliability) is written on a stater from Locri. It was issued by the Locrians, who had settled at Cape Zephyrium ( = Capo Bruzzano) since the beginning of the 7th century BC, between 275 and 270.

Lot 277 / Auction 318. Locri Epizephyrii. Silver stater ca. 275 BC. Very rare. Very fine+. Estimate: 2,500 euros.

The stater features Roma, seated facing left, holding a shield and spear. She is garlanded with the personification of fidelity. By way of this depiction, the Locrians commemorated that they had remained loyal to the city at the Tiber during the war of the Romans against Pyrrhus, even though the latter conquered the city for a short period of time in 276.

We are not only excited about being able to offer such a rare coin, but also about the fact that the quality of the piece from the Dr. W. R. Collection has resulted in it being used as an illustration for the coin type published as number 1577 in the standard reference work of Greek numismatics: the “Handbook of Coins of Italy and Magna Graecia” by Oliver D. Hoover, published as recently as 2018.