★ Very rare and interesting: the judgement of Paris ★

Maximinus I Thrax, Æ of Tarsus, Cilicia. AD 235-238.
Obv: ΑΥΤ•Κ•Γ•ΙΟΥ•ΟΥΗ•ΜΑΞΙΜƐΙΝΟϹ, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right; Π-Π across fields.
Rev: The Judgement of Paris: Paris seated on a rock to left, wearing Phrygian cap, holding lagobolon and apple; before him, Athena standing to right, holding spear and resting shield on ground, veiled Hera enthroned to right, and nude figure of Aphrodite standing to right, drawing drapery from shoulder; ΤΑΡϹΟΥ Α Μ Κ Γ above, B to right, ΜΗΤΡΟΠΟ in exergue.
RPC Online 7109 (temporary); SNG France 1587; BMC 223. Very Rare; RPC Online cites only ten specimens.

The story of the judgement of Paris begins at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis (the parents of Achilles) to which every god or goddess was invited except Eris, the goddess of discord. In her anger she threw an apple into the gathering upon which it was written 'To The Fairest'. Three goddesses laid claim to the apple, Athena, Hera and Aphrodite, and it was decided that Zeus would choose the winner. Rather than facing the anger of the two not chosen, Zeus instructed Hermes to lead the goddesses to Paris, a prince of Troy who was known for his fairness. Each goddess offered Paris a bribe: Aphrodite promised the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen, as a wife (despite her being married already to the Greek Menelaus); Athena offered strength in battle and wisdom; and Hera offered to make him king of Europe and Asia. Paris chose Aphrodite's gift and thus made himself and Troy enemies of the Greeks and several gods (especially Hera). This animosity culminated in the Trojan War and the ten-year siege of Troy by the Greeks related in Homer's Iliad.

Weight: 24.19 g.
Diameter: 35 mm.