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Istros, the Greek colony at the mouth of the Danube on the Black Sea's western shore, was one of the earliest Greek settlements in the region, founded by Miletus around the seventh century BC. By the third century the city was navigating pressure from surrounding Getic tribes while maintaining enough commercial independence to sustain a municipal bronze coinage for local exchange. These small bronzes circulated within a narrow regional economy; they rarely traveled far, which partly explains why surviving examples tend to show significant wear from genuine use rather than long-term hoarding.