Catalog
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
| Issuer | Sparta (Achaea) |
|---|---|
| Year | 260-268 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Bronze |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | ΓΑΛΛΙΗΝΟΝ ΑΥΓΟΥ (Translation: for Gallienus Augustus) |
| Reverse description | Archaic-style cult statue of Athena striding to the right, hurling a spear with the raised right hand while bearing a round shield on the extended left arm. The figure closely replicates the celebrated Athena Promachos iconography associated with Spartan religious tradition. The reverse legend names the issuing civic authority and denotes the denomination. The static, hieratic rendering of the deity deliberately evokes the ancient wooden xoanon venerated at Sparta, lending the design strong local religious and cultural significance. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Sparta's civic bronze coinage effectively ended with the sole reign of Gallienus — this issue comes from the final phase of a provincial minting tradition that had persisted under Roman oversight for over two centuries. The broader collapse of the Antonine and Severan monetary systems, combined with the catastrophic instability of the Crisis of the Third Century, pushed most provincial mints into silence by the 260s. Sparta was no exception.
The ΑϹ Η reverse denomination notation remains a subject of debate among specialists in Peloponnesian civic issues.