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Æ16
| Issuer | Tenos |
|---|---|
| Year | 200 BC - 133 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Round (irregular) |
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| Obverse description | Laureate head of Poseidon facing right, rendered in archaic Hellenistic style with thick curling locks of hair and a full beard visible beneath the laurel wreath. The portrait fills the flan, with bold, deeply struck facial features characteristic of island mint bronzes of the period. The field is plain with no visible legend. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Upright trident occupying the centre of the field, flanked on each side by a dolphin swimming inward toward the shaft, forming a symmetrical heraldic composition emblematic of the island of Tenos and its association with Poseidon. The ethnic abbreviation ΤΗ (for ΤΗΝΙΩΝ) appears in the field, divided to either side of the trident. The overall design is boldly struck though somewhat irregular due to the hand-struck technique. |
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| Additional information |
Tenos, the small Cycladic island better known in antiquity for its sanctuary of Poseidon and Amphitrite than for any political weight, produced a modest bronze coinage during the Hellenistic period largely to serve local cult activity and market exchange. The sanctuary drew pilgrims and theoroi from across the Aegean, creating enough transactional demand to justify small-denomination civic issues even from an island with negligible geopolitical standing.
The SNG Copenhagen specimens remain among the primary reference points for attributing this type, reflecting how thinly documented Tenian coinage is across the major collections.