Thessaly, Ainis (Ainianes) AR Hemidrachm c.350 BC Zeus/Phemios Rare

Ainis (Ainianes), Hemidrachm, silver, 350 BC, 2.68 g, 16 mm. Obverse: Anepigraphic; laureate and bearded head of Zeus left. Reverse: AINIANΩN; the hero Phemios, nude except for a belt with short sword in scabbard and a chlamys draped over shoulders and left arm, standing left facing, head right, hurling a javelin with right hand and holding his petasos as a small shield in left. Struck at Ainis on a broad flan; obverse well centered; slight peripheral flatness on reverse; die axis 6 h. Rare. References: BCD I 1013. The Ainianes were a tribal state in southern Thessaly centered in the upper Spercheios valley. Their coinage of the mid-4th century BC emphasizes local identity: Zeus reflects regional worship, while the reverse depicts Phemios, the legendary founder-hero of the Ainianes. Issued shortly before Macedonian domination under Philip II, this hemidrachm documents the autonomy and martial character of the Ainianes and preserves one of the few numismatic portrayals of this specific hero.