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Dichalkon
| Issuer | Olympia |
|---|---|
| Year | 225 BC - 191 BC |
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| Shape | Round (irregular) |
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| Obverse description | Laureate head of Apollo facing right, rendered in fine Hellenistic style with long flowing hair and delicate facial features. The laurel wreath is clearly delineated around the crown of the head, with wavy locks falling behind the neck. The portrait is set within a broad, plain field with no legend or inscription. The die work exhibits the characteristic naturalistic modeling of late Classical to early Hellenistic coinage from the Peloponnese. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Olympia's civic coinage is inseparable from the sanctuary economy of the Altis. The site attracted tens of thousands of visitors during the quadrennial Games, and small bronze issues like this one almost certainly served the transactional needs of that pilgrimage traffic — votive purchases, food vendors, the various fees attached to participation and spectacle — rather than any broader regional monetary system.
The BCD Peloponnesos reference places this among a well-documented sequence, the BCD collection having been the definitive private holding for Peloponnesian bronzes before its Lanz auction dispersal in 2002.