Dolphin APIXO

Olbia, the Greek colony at the mouth of the Hypanis river on the Black Sea's northern shore, used cast bronze dolphin-shaped pieces as a local exchange medium well before adopting conventional struck coinage. These are among the earliest bronze issues in the Greek world, predating the widespread adoption of bronze as a monetary metal by several decades. Their casting method, rather than striking, places them closer technologically to Mesopotamian currency objects than to contemporary Aegean practice.