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Diobol
| Issuer | Kydonia |
|---|---|
| Year | |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Diobol (⅓) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| 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 | Bust of a nymph facing left, rendered in fine archaic-to-early Hellenistic style. The hair is elaborately dressed, swept back in flowing waves and gathered in long curling locks falling behind the neck, with a wreath or diadem visible atop the head. The facial features are delicately modeled with a slightly upturned nose and parted lips. The flan is compact and the relief is high, characteristic of Cretan mint work. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
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| Mintage | ND - Struck in the early 2nd century BC |
| Additional information |
Kydonia, the Cretan city whose name likely gave us the quince (*kydonion melon*), struck its own independent coinage from roughly the fifth century BC onward despite being repeatedly contested by neighboring poleis and outside powers. The city changed hands between Aeginetan, Samian, and eventually Ptolemaic influence over the centuries, and its coinage reflects those interruptions — issues are sporadic and small in volume, which accounts for the rarity of even minor denominations like this diobol.
The Lockett and Dewing collections, both now dispersed, were among the most rigorous mid-twentieth-century assemblages of Greek bronzes and silvers; a coin appearing in both reference sequences has had serious scholarly handling.