Apollonia Pontica, the Milesian colony on the Black Sea coast of Thrace, was one of the earliest Greek cities to strike silver coinage in the region — its mint active by at least the late 6th century BC. By the Hellenistic period, magistrate names such as Ariston, Aineas, and Lysenos were stamped onto issues to assign accountability for silver content, a practice that tells us more about the colony's civic administration than any literary source does. The city fell to Lucullus in 72 BC, after which independent civic coinage effectively ceased.
Apollonia Pontica, the Milesian colony on the Black Sea coast of Thrace, was one of the earliest Greek cities to strike silver coinage in the region — its mint active by at least the late 6th century BC. By the Hellenistic period, magistrate names such as Ariston, Aineas, and Lysenos were stamped onto issues to assign accountability for silver content, a practice that tells us more about the colony's civic administration than any literary source does. The city fell to Lucullus in 72 BC, after which independent civic coinage effectively ceased.