Achaia, Achaian League. Pallantion
Triobol or Hemidrachm Circa 1st century BCE
AE 1.91g 16mm
Obv: Laureate head of Zeus right.
Rev: Achaian League monogram; A above, Π-A across field, monogram and trident below; all within wreath.
Benner 4; BCD Peloponnesos 1593.2; SNG Copenhagen 290; HGC 5, 969.
Ex Auktion Tietjen 2017
ex Fritz Rudolf Künker 2018
Pallantion received its name from Pallas, a son of Lykaon, who supposedly founded the city. It was bordered by Tegea to the west. By legend, Evander of Pellene departed from here to settle on the banks of the river Tiber, and from Pallantion the Palatine Hill received its name. After the foundation of Megalopolis, its stature decreased, but it must have been large enough to mint its own coins under the Achaian League, though they’re relatively rare.
Under Antoninus Pius, the city prospered, and it was visited by Pausanias. He found statues to Pallas and Evander and a temple to Persephone. The modern day village of Palantio exists near the ancient ruins.