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Æ9
| Issuer | Olbia |
|---|---|
| Year | 325 BC - 320 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Laureate head of Apollo facing right, rendered in archaic Greek style with flowing hair indicated by incised lines curling behind the neck. The portrait occupies the full flan, with the laurel wreath clearly delineated above the brow. The facial features are boldly modelled in high relief, characteristic of Pontic Greek mint work of the late fourth century BC. The irregular flan edge is typical of small-denomination bronze coinage from this region and period. |
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| Reverse description | A dolphin leaping to the right is depicted in the upper field, rendered with vigorous naturalistic detail typical of Olbian coinage, reflecting the city's strong maritime identity and its close association with the Black Sea. Below the dolphin, the ethnic inscription OΛBIO is arranged in a semicircular legend across the lower portion of the field. The design is compact and boldly struck within the small irregular flan, with the dolphin's arched body dominating the composition. |
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| Additional information |
Olbia, the Greek colonial city on the north shore of the Black Sea near the mouth of the Bug River, had one of the ancient world's more unusual monetary histories — it preceded coinage with cast bronze dolphin-shaped currency and large wheel-shaped bronzes before settling into struck coins. This tiny Æ9 belongs to an early phase of that struck bronze series, issued during a period when Olbian trade was heavily oriented toward Scythian networks rather than Aegean ones.