Greek Coin of Mysia, Lampsakos

Struck circa 390-330 BC at mint of Lampsakos in Mysia
AR Silver Diobol (10mm - 1.1 grams)
Reference: SNG France 1190

Obverse: Janiform female head, wearing circular earring

Reverse: ΛΑ-Μ, Helmeted head of Athena facing right; fly in right field

Coin Notes:
Rare example

Arrives with specifications page for your reference.

Lampsacus (Ancient Greek: Λάμψακος, romanized: Lampsakos) was an ancient Greek city located in modern day Turkey, strategically situated on the eastern side of the Hellespont in the northern Troad. An inhabitant of Lampsacus was called a Lampsacene. The name has been transmitted in the nearby modern town of Lapseki.

Originally known as Pityusa or Pityussa (Ancient Greek: Πιτυούσ(σ)α), it was colonized from Phocaea and Miletus. In the 6th century BC Lampsacus was attacked by Miltiades the Elder and Stesagoras, the Athenian tyrants of the nearby Thracian Chersonese. During the 6th and 5th centuries BC, Lampsacus was successively dominated by Lydia, Persia, Athens, and Sparta. The Greek tyrants Hippoclus and later his son Acantides ruled under Darius I. Artaxerxes I assigned it to Themistocles with the expectation that the city supply the Persian king with its famous wine. When Lampsacus joined the Delian League after the battle of Mycale (479 BC), it paid a tribute of twelve talents, a testimony to its wealth; it had a gold coinage in the 4th century, an activity only available to the more prosperous cities.

A revolt against the Athenians in 411 BC was put down by force. In 196 BC, the Romans defended the town against Antiochus the Great, and it became an ally of Rome; Cicero and Strabo attest its continuing prosperity under Roman rule. Lampsacus was also notable for its worship of Priapus, who was said to have been born there.

The philosopher Anaxagoras was forced to retire to Lampsacus after a trial in Athens around 434–433 BC. The citizens of Lampsacus erected an altar to Mind and Truth in his honor, and observed the anniversary of his death for many years. Additionally, in his honor, the annual celebration known as the Anaxagoreia was established.

The people of Lampsacus were pro-Persian, or were suspected of doing so, and Alexander the Great was furiously angry, threatening them with massive harm. They sent Anaximenes of Lampsacus to intercede. Alexander, bound by his oath, was tricked into pardoning the people by a clever request to do the opposite of what Anaximenes actually meant.

Lampsacus produced a series of notable historians and philosophers. Charon of Lampsacus (c. 500 BC) composed histories of Persia, Libya, and Ethiopia, and annals of his native town. Metrodorus of Lampsacus (the elder) (5th century BC) was a philosopher from the school of Anaxagoras. Strato of Lampsacus (c. 335 – c. 269 BC) was a Peripatetic philosopher and the third director of Aristotle's Lyceum at Athens. Euaeon of Lampsacus was one of Plato's students. A group of Lampsacenes were in the circle of Epicurus, including Polyaenus of Lampsacus (c. 340 – 278 BC), Idomeneus of Lampsacus, Colotes the satirist, Leonteus of Lampsacus, and Batis of Lampsacus. Anaximenes of Lampsacus, a rhetorician and historian, and his nephew, also named Anaximenes, were historians. Aristocles of Lampsacus was a Stoic philosopher. Xenophon of Lampsacus was a geographer.  The people of Lampsacus dedicated a statue of Anaximenes of Lampsacus at Olympia, Greece.  According to legend, St Tryphon was buried at Lampsacus after his martyrdom at Nicaea in 250.

The first known bishop in Lampsacus was Parthenius, under Constantine I. Part of the Hellespont, Lampsacus was subject to the metropolis of Cyzicus. In 364, the see was occupied by Marcian and a council of bishops was held at Lampsacus. Marcian was summoned to the First Council of Constantinople of Constantinople in 381, but refused to retract his adherence to the Macedonian Christian sect. Other known bishops of Lampsacus include Daniel (451), Harmonius (458), Constantine (680), John (787), and St. Euschemon. The See of Lampsacus is mentioned in the "Notitiae Episcopatuum" until about the 12th or 13th century. The famous Lampsacus Treasure, now in the British Museum, dates from this period. The bishopric remains a vacant and titular see.

Part of the Lampsacus Treasure as currently displayed in the British Museum