Nomos 26

ISLANDS OFF THRACE, Samothrace. Circa 460 BC. Diobol (Silver, 10 mm, 1.04 g). Head of Athena to right, wearing crested Corinthian helmet, wearing a pearl necklace and with her long hair tied in a pony tail at the back; border of dots. Rev. Quadripartite incuse square. W. Schwabacher, Kiourpet, 6 and pl. XI, 6a-b. A very rare, very attractive and beautifully toned coin with a perfectly centered obverse. Some old scratches on the reverse, otherwise, nearly extremely fine.

From the "Collection sans Pareille" of Ancient Greek Fractions, ex Münzen und Medaillen FPL 505, November/December 1987, 72 (as Aineia) and from the Kiourpet (Chora) Hoard of 1930 (IGCH 696).

While Schwabacher made a good case for attributing this coin to Samothrace (the helmeted head of Athena is well-known from Samothrace's Hellenistic coinage), some others have suggested that it really ought to be from Aineia and be a head of Aineas (the Latin Aeneas). It is true that Aineas's head does appear there, and it is wearing a Corinthian helmet, but it is also invariably bearded and does not have his hair falling down the back of his neck in a pony tail. The head of this coin is Athena's and, so, we can confidently restore her to Samothrace.