Ancient Coin Becomes WWII GI trinket

I ran across this item while going through some things with my mother this morning and thought I’d share it.

During WWII, my father was with the US Third Infantry Division as it fought from North Africa, up through Italy and finally into Germany itself. While digging a foxhole in Italy, he came across this coin in the dirt and not knowing what it was, tucked it into his shirt pocket. He carried it as a trinket through the rest of the war. After the war, my mother kept it with the buttons in her sewing box. Eventually our neighbor’s son who was attending the University of Washington saw it and borrowed it to show to one of his professors.

This silver coin was minted in the city of Taras, which was founded in the south of Italy by refugees from Sparta. Taras became so successful that it needed pay mercenary soldiers for the city's defense, which resulted in the production of these silver coins during the last two centuries before Rome destroyed Taras in about 207 BCE.

Taras was also the name of the son of Poseidon, god of the sea. The coin shows this patron deity riding on the back of a dolphin. The other side of the coin is dedicated to horse racing, a particular love of the citizens of Taras. The rider is holding a laurel wreath over the horse’s head.