Catalog
Hemidrachm
| Issuer | Aptera (Crete (ancient)) |
|---|---|
| Year | 200 BC - 67 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Orientation | Variable alignment ↺ |
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| Obverse description | Laureate head of bearded Zeus facing right, rendered in high relief with flowing locks and a full beard rendered in detailed strands. The effigy displays a mature, powerful physiognomy characteristic of Hellenistic die-cutting traditions. The field is plain, and the type is enclosed within a border of raised dots following the irregular flan edge. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | ΑΠΤΑΡΑΙΩΝ |
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| Additional information |
Aptera was one of the more durable poleis of western Crete, surviving the internecine conflicts that eliminated many of its neighbors before the Roman conquest of 67 BC effectively ended autonomous Cretan coinage altogether. The city's name — meaning "featherless" — derives from a mythological contest between the Sirens and the Muses, said to have taken place there, in which the defeated Sirens tore out their own feathers in shame.
The hemidrachm fraction saw consistent use in Cretan inter-city commerce, where small silver denominations carried practical weight given the island's fragmented political geography.