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Drachm
| Issuer | Hierapytna |
|---|---|
| Year | 100 BC - 80 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Drachm (1) |
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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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| Technique | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Turreted head of a female deity facing right, wearing a mural crown with battlements rendered in fine detail. The hair is elaborately arranged in wavy locks falling to the neck, with loose curling tresses descending behind. The facial features are rendered with refined Hellenistic artistry, exhibiting a naturalistic profile with a delicate jawline. The field is plain, with no legend on the obverse. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A tall palm tree occupies the central field, its fronds spreading at the summit. To the left, an eagle stands facing right with wings spread open. The entire design is enclosed within a laurel wreath. The Greek legend IEPAΠI – APIΣT / A / ΓOPAΣ, identifying the city of Hierapytna and a magistrate's name (Aristagoras), is distributed in the fields. |
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| Additional information |
Hierapytna, on the southeastern coast of Crete, was among the last Cretan city-states to maintain independent coinage into the late Hellenistic period — most of its neighbors had already subordinated their minting to Koinon issues or Roman economic pressure. This drachm falls within the city's final decades of autonomous silver production, before Roman administrative consolidation of Crete following Metellus's campaign of 69–67 BC effectively ended local civic coinage across the island.
The "var." qualifications against both Svoronos and the Lockett reference suggest a die combination not fully catalogued — not unusual for Hierapytna, whose small civic output has never received the systematic die study applied to larger Cretan mints like Knossos or Gortyna.