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Drachm - Amphias & Themistokles
| Issuer | Apollonia Pontika |
|---|---|
| Year | 250 BC - 168 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | A cow standing left, head turned back to regard a suckling calf nursing beneath her. The animals are rendered in high relief with considerable naturalistic detail, the calf positioned below and slightly forward of the dam. A groundline is present beneath the group. The magistrate's name AMΦIAΣ is inscribed in Greek letters across the upper field. |
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| Reverse description | A square border encloses two juxtaposed stellar or floral patterns, each composed of radiating lines terminating in globular elements arranged symmetrically, resembling a double anchor or stylized star motif — the civic emblem of Apollonia Pontika. The abbreviated city ethnic AΠOΛ appears in the upper field above the square, with the magistrate's name ΘEMIΣTOKΛEOΣ distributed around the remaining border in segments. |
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| Additional information |
Apollonia Pontika, the Milesian colony on the Black Sea coast of Thrace, issued drachms under named magistrates as a matter of civic accountability — the names Amphias and Themistokles appearing together identify a specific administrative pairing rather than a sequential series. The city's silver coinage was deeply embedded in Black Sea trade networks, circulating alongside issues from Histria and Mesembria in a regional economy dominated by grain, fish, and Pontic luxury goods.
Ceka's classification remains the authoritative framework for Apollonian magistrate sequences, though the precise chronology within the 250–168 BC window is still debated among specialists.