Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Æ
| Issuer | Nesos |
|---|---|
| Year | 300 BC - 200 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Laureate head of Apollo facing right, rendered in the Hellenistic style characteristic of third-century BC Sicilian bronzes. The laurel wreath is visible atop the deity's hair, with the facial features showing idealized youthful proportions. The flan is slightly irregular, as typical of hammered issues of this period, and the field is plain without additional devices or legend. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A dolphin leaping to the right occupies the upper portion of the field, its arched body rendered with naturalistic detail. Beneath the dolphin, a lyre is depicted in the lower field, serving as a secondary symbol referencing Apollo's patronage of music. The ethnic legend NAΣI appears in Greek characters, identifying the issuing authority of Nesos. The composition reflects the maritime and Apolline iconographic vocabulary common to Sicilian Greek coinage of the Hellenistic period. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Nesos — Greek for "island" — was a small settlement on the Adriatic coast of Illyria, and its bronze coinage is known from only a handful of types, suggesting a minting operation of extremely limited scope and duration. The BMC Greek 6–7 reference places this among the better-documented pieces, but the civic identity behind the issue remains poorly understood; whether Nesos functioned as an independent polis or as a dependent community within a broader Illyrian political structure is still debated.