The numismatic chronicle and journal of the Royal ... - IndianCoins.org

56 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.of the larger denomination by a Brettian engraverimperfectly acquainted with Greek. So far from beingbarbarous, indeed, the die itself is of highly artisticexecution.Another more probable explanation, however, lies readyto hand. The abbreviated form of the civic signature isaltogether in conformity with the usage found on thecoinage of Corinthian model, and is no doubtoriginally due to the transliteration for the Colonialissues of the 9 of the mother-city. Often it is a singleletter, as at Leukas, on the early coins of Ambrakia, atThyrreion, and Dyrrhachion ;at times it is a monogramor the first two or three letters of the name, as atAnaktorion, or Astakos.When in the course of the fourth centuryB.C. theItalian Lokroi, Rhegion, 70 and the neighbouring town ofMesma struck " pegasi " in their own names, they conformedto the same practice of abbreviation. 71 What,however, is of more direct pertinence in the presentconnexion, Terina herself issued a coinage of this Corinthiantype [PL IV. 26], on which the civic name appears inthe same monogrammatic form "E as on the didrachmunder discussion.The view has been put forward that these Terinaean" pegasi," which seem to be of great rarity, 72 were"'The " pegasi " of Rhegion are distinctly later in type than those ofTerina. The Mesma example is also late and of barbarous fabric.n Several of the Lokrian coins, however, show the fuller form ofthe nfl.Tnf TT*One of the few specimens known of this rare type was acquired byDr. Imhoof Blumer at Beggio di Calabria (" Die Miinzen Akarnaniens,"Numismatische Zeitschrift, 1878, p. 7, n. 7), illustrated by him, MonnaiesGrecques, 1883, PL A, 12. Its weight is 8-53 grammes. Thanks to thekindness of Dr. Regling, I am able to reproduce this coin (now in theBerlin Museum) on PI. IV. 26.