Thessaly. Pelinna. Circa 400-344 BC. Drachm (Silver, 18 mm, 6.20 g, 10 h). Thessalian cavalryman, wearing petasos and chlamys, and holding a spear pointing backwards, riding to left on galloping horse; above, in tiny letters, ΑΙ; below horse, Α. Rev. [Π]ΕΛΙΝΝΑΙΚΟΝ (Νs retrograde) Warrior advancing left, his head turned back to right, wearing petasos and chlamys and with a sword in a scabbard held by a baldric, holding short spear in his right hand and a round shield, ornamented with a crescent, and two other spears in his left. BCD Thessaly I, 1226 (this coin). Traité IV 527, pl. CCXC, 15. Very rare. A clear piece: one of the finest examples known. Some minor marks and with a craquelure surface, otherwise, nearly extremely fine. From the Ravenel Collection, USA, and from the BCD Collection, Nomos 4, 10 May 2011, 1226. The tiny letters on the obverse of this coin probably represent control marks of mint officials responsible for the issue. The unusually fine quality of this coin must mean that it had been taken out of circulation after only a very short time. Most examples of this type are considerably more worn. Another problem is that all such coins that have been relatively recently found (or at least since the 1980s) are much more corroded due to the massive modern use of fertilizers in Thessaly since the 1950s/1960s.