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Drachm - Philotas and Kleandros
| Issuer | Dyrrachion (Illyria) |
|---|---|
| Year | 229 BC - 100 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Drachm |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A distinctive double stellate pattern, formed by radiating lines with pellet terminals arranged in two registers, is enclosed within a double linear square frame; the overall design creates a geometric, almost labyrinthine decorative field. The civic ethnic ΔΥΡ and the magistrate's name ΚΛΕΑΝΔΡΟΣ are disposed around the central square as a surrounding legend. This characteristic reverse type is the defining feature of the Dyrrachion drachm series and served as a consistent civic emblem throughout the coinage's long production. |
| Reverse script | Greek |
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| Additional information |
Dyrrachion — the Greek colony founded as Epidamnos around 627 BC on the Adriatic coast — became one of the ancient world's most active silver-striking mints precisely because it sat at the western terminus of the Via Egnatia, the road that would eventually connect the Adriatic to Byzantium. The city's drachms circulated aggressively into the Illyrian interior and across the Adriatic into Italy, functioning as a hard trade currency long after Rome had absorbed the region politically following the Illyrian Wars of 229–228 BC.
Magistrate-named issues like this one, bearing the names Philotas and Kleandros, helped scholars sequence the mint's enormous output — Ceka's numbering system remains the primary classification tool, built on die linkage and magistrate pairings rather than documentary evidence.