Beschreibung
Erhaltung: ss / vz | Abkürzungen
Katalognummer: Arpi
Durchmesser: 19,00 mm
weight 7,80gr. | bronze Ø 19mm.
obv. Laureate head of Zeus left, thunderbolt behind
rev. Kalydonian boar running right, spear-head above, APA in exergue
Arpi was an ancient city of Apulia, near modern Foggia. Its territory extended to the sea, and Strabo says that from the extent of the city walls one could gather that it had once been one of the greatest cities of Italy. As a protection against the Samnites, Arpi became an ally of Rome. In the war with Pyrrhus, the Arpani aided Rome with a contingent of 4000 foot and 400 horse. Arpi remained faithful to Rome until Romes defeat at the battle of Cannae, but the consul Quintus Fabius Maximus, son of the famous Roman dictator Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus, captured it in 213 B.C., and it never recovered its former importance. It lay on a by-road from Luceria to Sipontum. No Roman inscriptions have, indeed, been found here, and remains of antiquity are scanty. Foggia is its medieval representative.
BMC 5 | SNG.Cop.605 | SNG.ANS.639 | SNG.München 436 |
McClean 407 | SNG.Paris 1228 S
very attractive coin with dark patina
vf/xf
