Preliminary notes on the mint of Skotoussa and on coin circulation in the area

The polis of Skotoussa began its coinage shortly before the half of the 5th century BC, obols and hemidrachms characterized by the taurokatapsia as other Thessalian mint. Around the middle of the 5th century BC and later also drachms were struck by Skotoussa with new types: the forepart of a horse and a germinating grain of wheat, types shared with Methylion and with the first Thessalian Koinon minted in Pherai. The coinage went through a break in 367 BC, while the city was under the control of Alexander of Pherae reprised its production in the meddle of the 4th century and continued on a lower scale until the end of the 3rd, or at the beginning of the 2nd century when the polis was abandoned. This coinage has not been so far examined in its whole production. Our intention is to try to detect the reasons of its iconographic choices and to put its issues in relationship with the coin production of the region, adding some data on the coin circulation in the area from the Italian excavations of the University of Messina in collaboration with the Ephoria of Larisa.