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Æ - Prusias I or II
| Issuer | Kings of Bithynia |
|---|---|
| Year | 230 BC - 149 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A wreath of laurel or oak encircles the central field, within which a star or eight-pointed asterisk device is prominently displayed at the centre. The royal Greek legend ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ is inscribed above, arching along the upper interior of the wreath, while ΠΡΟΥΣΙΟΥ appears below, reading across the lower field, together identifying the issuing king as Prusias. The reverse composition is bold and graphic, characteristic of Hellenistic dynastic bronze issues from Bithynia. |
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| Reverse lettering | ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΠΡΟΥΣΙΟΥ (Translation: King Prusias) |
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| Additional information |
Bithynia's royal bronze coinage presents a persistent attribution problem: the two Prusias kings reigned across nearly a century, and the iconographic and epigraphic conventions shifted gradually enough that clean separation remains contested. Recueil général and von Aulock have landed on different conclusions for overlapping types. Prusias I, who ruled roughly 230–182 BC, built his kingdom partly through calculated neutrality during Rome's wars with Macedon and then pivoted opportunistically — harboring Hannibal after Zama until Roman pressure forced Hannibal's suicide at Libyssa around 183 BC.