RARE ANCIENT GREEK SILVER TETRADRACHM- ABDERA,THRACE

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III RPH III PRESENTING VERY RARE F/VF ANCIENT GREEK SILVER HEAVY COIN (AR Tetradrachm, Abdera-Thrace VI-V century BC) FROM TIME RANGE AND TERRITORY CLOSE TO LAST STAND OF KING LEONIDAS AND 300 SPARTANS Abdera (Greek: Ἄβδηρα ) was a town on the coast of Thrace 17 km east-northeast of the mouth of the Nestos, and almost opposite Thasos Island, the site now lies in the Xanthi Prefecture of modern Greece. Its mythical foundation was attributed to Heracles (on behalf of his fallen friend Abderus), its historical one to a colony from Klazomenai. This historical founding was traditionally dated to 654 BC, which is unverified, although evidence in 7th century BC Greek pottery tends to support it. But its prosperity dates from 544 BC, when the majority of the people of Teos (including the poet Anacreon) migrated to Abdera to escape the Persian yoke (Herodotus i.168). The chief coin type, a griffon , is identical with that of Teos; the rich silver coinage is noted for the beauty and variety of its reverse types. In 513 BC and 512 BC, the Persians conquered Abdera. In 492 BC, the Persians again conquered Abdera, this time under Darius I. It later became part of the Delian League and fought on the side of Athens in the Peloponnesian war. Abdera was a wealthy city, the third richest in the League, due to its production of corn and status as read more

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