Posted 11 years ago
Chrisnp
(310 items)
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.
A Nomos!
Wow!
Great story. Thanks for sharing.
CALABRIA, Tarentum. Circa 280 BC?
Vetraio50, clearly you know more about ancient coins than I do! Based on my limited knowledge, 280 BC may be right.
Thanks for the love blunder, walksoftly, DrFluffy, vetraio50, pw-collector and nutsabotas6.
Really great story and stunning piece. Thanks for sharing. Love this kind of stuff.
Great story.
Your Dad was lucky too-- all I ever found digging fighting positions in foreign lands were rocks and garabage!
scott
Thanks for the love SEAN68 and Militarist. And thank you for the love and the nice comment AmberRose.
Scott, I never found anything myself while digging a fighting position, but a group of soldiers I was evaluating at an exercise at Ft Drum dug up a huge quantity of WWI style barbwire pickets, of which I held on to a couple. Hardly the same, I know.
Thanks for the love Windwalker.
Thanks for the love petey
Thanks for the love inky, sarahoff and Manikin.