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Æ15
| Issuer | Epidauros |
|---|---|
| Year | 250 BC - 200 BC |
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| Currency | Drachm |
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| Obverse description | Laureate head of Asklepios facing right, rendered in bold relief with a thick, flowing beard and prominent laurel wreath. The facial features are modelled in the robust Hellenistic style typical of Peloponnesian civic bronzes, with a strong brow and clearly defined eye. The field is plain and uninscribed. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A coiled serpent, the sacred emblem of Asklepios, depicted rearing upward to the right with its body tightly coiled upon a low ground line. The scales are rendered in careful relief, with the raised head turned to the right, evoking the cult snake venerated at the sanctuary of Epidauros. The field is plain and devoid of legend. |
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| Additional information |
Epidauros was among the most visited sites in the ancient Greek world, its sanctuary of Asklepios drawing the sick from across the Mediterranean. The city's bronze coinage of this period almost certainly circulated heavily within the sanctuary precinct itself, used by pilgrims paying for sacrificial animals, votive offerings, and the various fees associated with incubation rites. These small bronzes were workhorses of the sanctuary economy.
BCD Peloponnesos 1249 references the collection assembled by the late collector known as "BCD," whose Peloponnesian holdings set the standard reference point for this regional coinage when auctioned by Leu Numismatik in 2021.