Hemidrachm

Chersonesos — the Thracian peninsula colony, not to be confused with the Crimean settlement of the same name — struck these hemidrachms in enormous quantities throughout the fourth century, and they circulated far beyond their home region. The type was effectively a regional trade currency across the northern Aegean and into Thrace, accepted by weight rather than by issuing authority. Philip II of Macedon's campaigns through the region in the 340s disrupted the colony's autonomy significantly, and the terminal date of this series corresponds closely with his effective absorption of Thracian coastal settlements.