Ancient Greek coin; Lucania, Velia, Silver Stater/Didrachm, c.440-280 BC; Weight: 7.30 g; Diameter: 20 mm; A port city along the Tyrrhenian Sea, Velia issued a varied and artistic coinage. The earliest coins were struck on thick, narrow planchets, and later issues were struck on increasingly broad, round flans. A few unusual issues aside, most Velian staters show on their obverse the head of Athena wearing a helmet with a great variety of decorations, including a laurel wreath, a wing, a chariot, a dolphin, a griffin and the creature Scylla. The reverse usually shows a lion in a variety of poses; typically he is prowling, but other times he stands with his head more erect. Major varieties of the reverse design include a lion attacking a stag, gnawing on prey, or walking before a palm tree.