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Æ23 Bronze
| Issuer | Byzantion |
|---|---|
| Year | 300 BC - 200 BC |
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| Currency | Drachm |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Bare head of Dionysos facing right, hair bound with an ivy wreath, rendered in bold Hellenistic relief. The facial features are broadly modelled with a fleshy chin and slightly parted lips characteristic of late Classical civic bronze coinage. Clusters of ivy leaves and berries are visible among the flowing locks. The flan is irregular and the fields show typical wear and patination consistent with ancient circulation. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | BYΞANTI EPI AΣΩΡIOY (Translation: Byzantion) |
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| Additional information |
Byzantion's coinage of this period reflects the city's unusual position as a toll-collecting power on the Bosphoros strait — every vessel moving grain from the Black Sea to the Aegean passed through waters the city controlled, and that revenue underwrote a mint active enough to produce a varied bronze series. The city had successfully resisted Philip II of Macedon's siege in 340–339 BC, a victory that preserved its economic independence and kept its mint operating under civic rather than Macedonian authority.
The SNG France and MacDonald references place this piece within a well-catalogued but not exhaustively studied series.