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Dolphin
| Issuer | Olbia |
|---|---|
| Year | 520 BC - 360 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Cast |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Reverse of the cast bronze dolphin-shaped coin, displaying the plain underside of the dolphin form with incuse or lightly modeled parallel ridges running longitudinally along the body. The surface retains traces of green cuprite and bronze patina, characteristic of prolonged burial. No inscriptions or additional devices are present; the reverse is distinguished from the obverse by its comparatively flatter, more schematically rendered profile. |
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| Mint | Olbia |
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| Additional information |
Olbia, the Greek colony at the mouth of the Hypanis river on the Black Sea's northern coast, used cast dolphin-shaped bronzes as a local transactional medium before adopting conventional coin types. These pieces circulated alongside imported coinage from other Greek cities and appear in hoards alongside Istrian and Pontic issues, suggesting a trading network well beyond the immediate colony. Whether they functioned as fractional currency or as a purely local convention remains debated — no ancient literary source explicitly describes them.
Casting variation is substantial across the series; no two are precisely alike in curvature or surface texture.