Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Gold Stater Koson type
| Issuer | Uncertain Dacian tribes |
|---|---|
| Year | 44 BC - 42 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Drachm |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Three figures in procession advancing right: a Roman consul in the center flanked by two lictors bearing fasces over their left shoulders, all depicted in classical relief style. The composition closely imitates the obverse type of the silver denarius issued by Marcus Junius Brutus (moneyer) in 54 BC, known as the Junia series. The legend ΚΟΣΩΝ appears in Greek characters, disposed in the field. The figures are rendered in a competent but somewhat provincial manner, reflecting the influence of Roman Republican iconography on Dacian coinage. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | ΚΟΣΩΝ (Translation: Koson) |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
The Koson staters occupy an uncomfortable space in ancient numismatics — their attribution has been disputed for over a century, with scholars variously assigning them to a Thracian king named Koson, to Brutus's forces operating in the Balkans after Caesar's assassination, or to local Dacian elites minting bullion coinage for mercenary payments. The Roman consular imagery borrowed for the design is almost certainly not coincidental given the date range: Brutus was actively recruiting in the region during 43–42 BC and is known to have paid troops in gold.
Romanian hoards have produced these staters in remarkable quantities, suggesting a single concentrated production episode rather than sustained royal minting.