Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
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!
Diobol
| Issuer | Apollonia Pontika |
|---|---|
| Year | 400 BC - 300 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Drachm |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| 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 | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | An eagle, wings spread and displayed, stands facing left at center of the flan in high relief, a characteristic civic type of Apollonia Pontika. Beneath the eagle, a crayfish (astacus) is depicted, serving as a secondary symbol associated with the city's maritime identity. The Greek letter Α (Alpha), the initial of Apollonia, appears prominently in the lower field between the eagle's talons and the crayfish. The composition is bold and well-centered for a hammered issue. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Apollonia Pontika |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Apollonia Pontika, the Milesian colony on the western Black Sea coast, produced these small silver coins primarily to facilitate trade with Thracian and Scythian peoples along the littoral. The city's economy depended heavily on fish — particularly tuna — exported inland, and lightweight fractional silver was the practical currency of that commerce.
The anchor type associated with this mint is among the longest-running device choices in Greek colonial coinage, persisting through substantial political upheaval including Macedonian expansion into the region under Philip II.