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Hemidrachm
| Issuer | Cherronesos |
|---|---|
| Year | 386 BC - 338 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Orientation | Variable alignment ↺ |
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| Obverse description | Forepart of a lion in high relief, depicted in a crouching pose and oriented to the right, with the head dramatically turned back to the left and the mouth open in a roar. The mane is rendered with fine engraved striations radiating outward in a naturalistic style. A pellet is visible at the lower field, and the overall composition displays the confident, vigorous artistry characteristic of Chersonesean coinage of the Classical period. |
|---|---|
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| Mintage | ND (386 BC - 338 BC) |
| Additional information |
Chersonesos, the Thracian Chersonese peninsula, issued these hemidrachms in enormous quantities over roughly five decades, making them one of the most widely circulated silver coins of the fourth-century Aegean world. They functioned as a kind of regional trade currency absorbed into commercial networks stretching well beyond Thrace — hoards containing them have turned up across the Black Sea basin and into Anatolia. The sheer volume minted suggests an issuing authority more concerned with facilitating exchange than with asserting political distinctiveness.
The type predates Philip II's consolidation of Macedonian power over the peninsula, which ended local autonomous coinage around 338 BC.