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.
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.