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Drachm
| Issuer | Emporion |
|---|---|
| Year | 200 BC - 100 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Drachm |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Draped female head facing right, her hair bound with a wreath of grain ears, evoking a Demeter-type iconography associated with the fertility and maritime trade of Emporion. Three dolphins are arranged around the effigy in the field, serving as prominent symbols of the sea and the city's coastal Greek identity. The relief is boldly struck in the Hellenistic tradition, with finely rendered facial features and naturalistic drapery visible at the neck. The flan is irregular, characteristic of hand-hammered coinage of the period. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Emporion — modern Empúries on the Catalan coast — was a Greek Phocaean colony that maintained its mint long after most other Iberian Greek cities had ceased independent coinage. These drachms circulated heavily across northeastern Hispania and were so trusted that Iberian tribes began producing near-identical imitations, making attribution to the genuine civic issue a matter of careful die study rather than casual inspection.
The Roman military presence in the region from 218 BC onward created sustained demand for small silver, and Emporion's mint appears to have responded directly to that pressure.