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| Issuer | Olbia (Scythia) |
|---|---|
| Year | 310 BC - 280 BC |
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| Shape | Round (irregular) |
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| Obverse description | Laureate and bearded head of Zeus facing left, rendered in bold high relief with deeply articulated hair and beard flowing in serpentine strands. The facial features are strongly modelled in the archaic Greek provincial style, with a prominent brow, deeply set eye, and full beard rendered in multiple wavy locks. The hair is adorned with a wreath, the strands spreading broadly across the field to the right. No inscription appears on the obverse. The flan is irregular and slightly uneven, characteristic of the hand-struck coinage of the Pontic Greek colony of Olbia. |
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| Reverse lettering | OΛBIO Φ |
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| Additional information |
Olbia's bronze coinage of this period reflects the city's precarious position on the northern Black Sea littoral — a wealthy Greek emporium surrounded by Scythian and later Sarmatian tribal confederacies whose goodwill the city could not afford to lose. The municipal bronzes circulated primarily within the local economy, supplementing the silver issues that moved through longer-distance trade networks.
The Anokhin sequence places this type during a period of gradual civic recovery following disruptions of the late fourth century, when Olbia was forced to renegotiate its political relationships with neighboring steppe powers.