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Drachm
| Issuer | Sinope (Paphlagonia) |
|---|---|
| Year | 425 BC - 410 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 5.92 g |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Quadripartite incuse square divided diagonally into four triangular compartments, two of which are recessed and two raised, creating a striking alternating relief pattern. A pellet appears in the left-centre compartment, while an archaic retrograde sigma (lunate form) occupies the right compartment, serving as a mint or magistrate's symbol. The incuse technique, typical of early Greek coinage, produces a deeply punched geometric device characteristic of Pontic and Paphlagonian issues of the late fifth century BC. |
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| Mint | Sinope, Paphlagonia, modern-day Sinop, Turkey |
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| Additional information |
Sinope was the dominant Greek colonial city on the Black Sea's southern coast, controlling trade routes into the Pontic hinterland and serving as the principal conduit for Anatolian silver reaching the Aegean world. These drachms were struck during a period when the city operated with considerable autonomy, well before its eventual submission to Mithridates VI in 183 BC. The magistrate names appearing on issues of this period have allowed scholars to construct a rough sequential chronology, though attribution to specific decades remains contested.
The distinctive incuse punch on the reverse is a survival of archaic minting practice that Sinope retained long after most Greek mints had abandoned it.