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Both sides of an irregularly shaped silver-gray coin with relief decoration on each side.　　

On the side of the coin on the left is the raised image of a nude man seated on a dolphin facing right, left arm outstretched, right hand on dolphin's back; below, a scallop shell, surrounding the border a braided design with dots; left, the Greek characters: T A R A S. The other side of the coin depicts the same image in reverse, imprinted into the coin, of a nude man seated on a dolphin facing left, right arm outstretched, left hand on dolphin's back; below, a scallop shell, with a border of radiating lines.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1.1965.122
Title
Nomos (didrachm) of Tarentum
Classification
Coins
Work Type
coin
Date
510 - 490 BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe, Tarentum-Taras (Calabria)
Period
Archaic period
Culture
Greek
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/197595

Location

Location
Level 3, Room 3400, Ancient Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Art, Ancient Greece in Black and Orange
View this object's location on our interactive map

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Silver
Metal
AR
Technique
Struck
Dimensions
8.08 g
Die Axis
12
Denomination
nomos
Inscriptions and Marks
  • inscription: obverse: TARAS

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Found in Lecce 1906; Vlasto 64; Bank Leu, FPL Tarentum (1960)

State, Edition, Standard Reference Number

Standard Reference Number
FB 8a; Vlasto 64 (this coin)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Loan from the Trustees of the Arthur Stone Dewing Greek Numismatic Foundation
Object Number
1.1965.122
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
Obv.: Dolphin rider (Phalanthos or Taras), r.; below, scallop shell; guilloche border; retrograde inscription
Rev.: Same ethnic and type incuse; below, scallop shell; border of radiating lines

Exhibition History

  • 32Q: 3400 Greek, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/16/2014 - 01/01/2050

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu