Catalog
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| Issuer | Melos |
|---|---|
| Year | 400 BC - 300 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | SNG Copenhagen#681 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Helmeted male head facing right, set within a concave incuse square, a distinctive feature of early Melian bronze coinage. The head is rendered in profile with a close-fitting Attic-style helmet covering the skull, with facial features indicated in relatively low relief. The field surrounding the head within the incuse is plain, with no visible inscription or legend. |
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| Mintage | ND (400 BC - 300 BC) - Struck ca. 4th century BC |
| Additional information |
Melos occupies an awkward place in Greek history — the island was annihilated by Athens in 416 BC, its men killed and women and children enslaved, an event recorded with chilling clarity in Thucydides' Melian Dialogue. Bronze coinage attributed to Melos post-dates that destruction, implying the island was resettled, most likely under Athenian colonists, before regaining enough autonomy to strike its own issues. The archaeological and numismatic record of the resettlement period remains thin.