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Diobol Nymphaeum
| Issuer | Bosporan Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Year | 425 BC - 395 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Drachm |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Within a deep incuse square, a bunch of grapes suspended from a vine branch with tendrils, depicted in low relief. The Greek ethnic legend NYN (abbreviated form of NYMФAION, denoting Nymphaeum) appears above the grape cluster along the upper margin of the incuse. The overall composition is spare and bold, typical of the local coinage tradition of the Cimmerian Bosporus, with the incuse square serving both as a functional and decorative device. |
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| Reverse lettering | NYN |
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| Additional information |
Nymphaeum occupied a strategically awkward position on the Kerch Strait — nominally an Athenian ally and tribute-paying member of the Delian League, yet simultaneously drawn into the expanding commercial orbit of the Spartocid dynasty ruling from Panticapaeum just across the water. The city's eventual absorption into the Bosporan Kingdom, traditionally dated to around 404–400 BC under Satyros I, likely falls within the striking window of this very issue.
The autonomous coinage of Nymphaeum is brief and poorly documented. The Anokhin and MacDonald references treat it as a marginal series, with surviving specimens thin on the ground.