Hemidrachm

Epidauros owed much of its ancient wealth not to trade or agriculture but to the sanctuary of Asklepios, whose temple complex drew pilgrims from across the Greek world seeking healing. The city's coinage functioned partly as a practical monetary instrument and partly as sanctuary economy infrastructure — fees, dedications, and priestly transactions all required local silver. By the late second century BC, Epidauros had long since ceded real political autonomy to Rome, and issues like this hemidrachm reflect a civic mint operating within tightly constrained circumstances, striking small fractions for local exchange rather than regional commerce.

BCD 1267 sits in a well-documented sequence assembled by the collector Leuthold, whose Peloponnesos collection remains the reference standard for the region's bronzes and silver fractions.