Dolphin

Olbia, the Greek colony at the mouth of the Hypanis (modern Bug) river on the Black Sea's northern shore, issued these cast bronze pieces as some of the earliest token currency in the Greek world — predating struck coinage at the site by over a century. The dolphin form almost certainly carried religious significance tied to Apollo Delphinios, the city's principal deity, though a practical connection to the Black Sea fishing economy is equally plausible. These were not struck but cast, likely in clay molds, which accounts for the considerable weight variation seen across surviving examples.