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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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| Reference(s) | McClean#4078 |
| Obverse description | Forepart of a recumbent lion facing right, head reverted to the left in high relief, the mane rendered with fine incised striations radiating from the neck. The animal's musculature is boldly modelled, with extended forelegs resting upon the ground line. The design fills the flan with characteristic archaic vigour, set within a slightly irregular circular border. |
|---|---|
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| Mintage | ND (386 BC - 338 BC) |
| Additional information |
Chersonesos, the Thracian peninsula city, produced these hemidrachms in enormous quantities throughout the fourth century BC, likely to facilitate trade across the northern Aegean and Black Sea routes where Athenian coinage didn't dominate. The sheer volume minted — and the consistency of the type across generations — suggests a mercantile rather than civic imperative. Philip II of Macedon absorbed the region by 338 BC, the closing date of this issue's production.
The McClean specimen reference points to the collection assembled by Frank McClean and bequeathed to the Fitzwilliam Museum in 1904, still one of the more useful cataloguing resources for this prolific type.