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Drachm
| Issuer | Uncertain Thraco-macedonian city |
|---|---|
| Year | 480 BC |
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| Composition | Silver |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Nude or lightly draped rider seated on a horse galloping to right, wearing a pointed Persian-style tiara (kyrbasia); the rider holds a bow in the extended right hand, rendered in a bold archaic style with strong relief. The horse is depicted in a dynamic, full-gallop pose with all four legs extended, the mane carefully rendered with fine incised lines. The flan is irregular and slightly convex, consistent with early fifth-century BC Thraco-Macedonian coinage. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse description | Deep incuse square divided by two diagonal lines crossing at the centre, creating four triangular compartments in an X-pattern; the incuse is sharply cut and recessed, characteristic of early archaic Greek coinage technique. The quadripartite incuse square is a hallmark of early Thraco-Macedonian silver issues of the late Archaic period, circa 480 BC. No legend or additional devices are present within the incuse. |
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| Additional information |
The Thraco-Macedonian region in the early fifth century BC was densely fragmented — dozens of small poleis and tribal mints operating simultaneously, many issuing coinage for only a generation or two before absorption or abandonment. Attribution of unsigned issues from this period remains genuinely contested among specialists, with arguments turning on die-link studies, find-spot concentrations, and comparisons to better-documented civic series from Akanthos, Mende, and Tragilos.
The Persian Wars disrupted several of these mints directly; Xerxes' army marched through the region in 480 BC itself.