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Didrachm - Seuthes Type I
| Issuer | Kingdom of Odryssia |
|---|---|
| Year | 424 BC - 405 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Didrachm (2) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Plain field bearing the royal legend in four lines of large, bold archaic Greek letters arranged across the entire face of the coin: ΣΕΥΘΑ / ΑΡΓΥ / ΡΙΟΝ, reading 'Seuthes' silver' — an unusually explicit monetary statement identifying both the issuing ruler and the nature of the denomination. The lettering is rendered in a broad, well-spaced incuse-relief style, with some letters exhibiting archaic forms consistent with Thracian epigraphic practice of the late 5th century BC. The plain, unadorned field emphasises the inscription as the sole design element, with no border or exergue. |
| Reverse script | Greek |
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| Additional information |
Seuthes I ruled the Odrysian kingdom during a period of maximum territorial expansion, when the kingdom stretched from the Aegean coast into Thrace's interior and extracted tribute from Greek coastal cities. This didrachm belongs to a series issued when the Odrysian court was wealthy enough — and Hellenized enough — to mint silver coinage in Greek weight standards, a deliberate projection of parity with neighboring Greek poleis rather than any administrative necessity.
The Peykov corpus remains the primary reference for Odrysian coinage, though attribution of specific dies to Seuthes I versus Seuthes II has shifted across successive publications, reflected in the divergence between the Moushkmov 1912 and 2025 numbering.