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Dichalkon - Sardes
| Issuer | Sardes |
|---|---|
| Year | 133 BC - 100 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Reverse description | A lion standing right in a dynamic striding pose, its maned head turned to face the viewer frontally, rendered in the vigorous Hellenistic tradition associated with Sardian coinage. A small circular symbol, possibly a control mark, is visible to the lower left of the lion in the field. The entire reverse design is enclosed within a dotted border. The Greek civic legend appears partially around the periphery, identifying the issuing authority of Sardes. |
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| Reverse lettering | ΣΑΡΔΙ ΑΝΩΝ Θ (Translation: Of Sardes) |
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| Additional information |
Sardes became a Roman provincial city almost overnight in 133 BC when Attalus III of Pergamon died without an heir and bequeathed his entire kingdom to Rome — a transfer of power unprecedented in the ancient world. Local bronze coinage continued under the new arrangement, issued now under Roman oversight as Sardes was absorbed into the province of Asia. The city retained enough administrative autonomy to strike its own small bronzes through the transition decades.
The Copenhagen and Aulock references place this type firmly within that adjustment period, before Roman monetary influence fully standardized provincial output.