214
Measurements:
―
Ag. wt.: 4.60g - 0.43g. (wt. of 3 pins and lock) Size: 1.8 cm, diam., 4 mm. thick.
=
= 4.17 g
Similar original gold coins weigh 132.7 grain = 8.547 g. and have a diameter of 0.7 inches. It is only natural that the silver coin weighs much less, its density being 10.7868 compared to that of gold which is 19.6967.
The comparative volume of the coins shows a great approximation, Au. 43/Ag. 39, despite the difficulty in assessing the weight of the silver of similar original silver coins one.
Reports point to the possibility of the present coin being original. It is true that while gold was the precious metal ‘par excellence’ in Europe and in Asia Minor, silver was more commonly sought after in Asian countries. The coin is probably a contemporary or near contemporary copy of the gold original, probably made somewhere in the Persian Empire.
Description of the Coin
Obverse:
Head of Demeter or Hera (?) wearing stephane (head band) and veil on the back of the head, earring and necklace. On the left, in front of the forehead, the letters TAPA (in Greek: Tara). A dolphin at the left, down the side, and a letter K near the neck, in front. A border circular line.
Reverse:
Young horseman (Kastor or Taras), naked, with javelin in the right hand and resting on the right shoulder. The horse is galloping or cantering. Below: AΠOΛ. In front of the horse's head a thunderbolt. On certain parts of the coin border dots are visible.
Notes:
1. TAPA is an abbreviation for TAPANTΩN, (Taranton), of the Tarantines.