Obolos 15

CILICIA. Kelenderis. Circa 410-375 BC. Stater (Silver, 21 mm, 10.72 g, 1 h). Youthful nude rider holding the reins with his left hand and a goad in his right, seated sideways on horse prancing to right, preparing to jump off and run alongside the horse. Rev. ΚΕΛΕΝ Goat kneeling to right, its head turned back to left; in exergue, T. Casabonne type 4. McClean 9055. SNG France 71 var (TA on the exergue). Toned and attractive, but struck on a tight flan. Obverse struck from a slightly worn die, and some scuffs on the reverse, otherwise, very fine.

The coins of Kelenderis celebrate its horse-riding elite: they show the point in the kalpe - a race for mares - when, in the last lap, the jockey would slide off the horse and run alongside the horse until the finish. The style of these coins is usually very good indeed, as this piece shows; however, there are some pieces, which really are dreadful, and they must be either ancient or later imitations.