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Hemidrachm
| Issuer | Megara (Megaris) |
|---|---|
| Year | 300 BC - 250 BC |
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| Composition | Silver |
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| Obverse description | Laureate head of Apollo facing right, rendered in a mature Hellenistic style with finely engraved curling locks and a short beard visible along the jawline. The laureate wreath is depicted with individual leaves carefully articulated around the crown of the head. The portrait displays a strong, slightly idealised profile characteristic of Megarian civic coinage of the early third century BC. The field is plain, with no inscription or additional devices. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Megara occupied an awkward geographic position between Corinth and Athens, and its coinage history reflects that pressure directly. The city was never a major mint, and hemidrachms of this type were produced in relatively small quantities during a period when Megara was navigating the fractious aftermath of the Lamian War and shifting Macedonian dominance over the Peloponnese.
The BCD collection reference here is significant — Lanz's Peloponnesos sale remains the benchmark grouping for this series, and the clustering of die matches across those lots clarified the chronology considerably.