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Æ17 - Nero C I F (retrograde)
| Issuer | Sinope (Bithynia and Pontus) |
|---|---|
| Year | 57-60 |
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| Composition | Bronze |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Two colonists advancing left, each guiding an ox in a ploughing scene, evoking the ritual foundation act (sulcus primigenius) of the Roman colony of Sinope. The figures are rendered in a schematic provincial style, with the animals and ploughmen occupying the central field. A retrograde Latin legend C I F — standing for Colonia Iulia Felix — appears in the field or exergue, identifying the colony. This founding scene is a recurring type on Sinopean colonial coinage and carries strong propagandistic resonance under Nero. |
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| Reverse lettering | C I F (retrograde) |
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| Additional information |
The retrograde legend on this issue — C I F reading right-to-left — is not a mint error but a deliberate, if puzzling, engraving choice documented across the SNG Black Sea specimens. Sinope, a Roman colony on the Black Sea coast with a mint active since at least the Augustan period, produced small bronzes for local circulation that rarely traveled far. The colony's semi-autonomous coinage under the early Julio-Claudians reflects a civic pride in Latin-letter issues that distinguishes Sinope sharply from the Greek-legend bronzes of neighboring Pontic cities.