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Hemidrachm
| Issuer | Cherronesos |
|---|---|
| Year | 386 BC - 338 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Hemidrachm (1/2) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Forepart of a lion to the right, head turned back to face left, rendered in high relief with boldly modeled musculature and an open mouth revealing teeth. The mane is depicted in carefully incised, radiating strokes framing the powerful head. The design is characteristic of the Cherronesian hemidrachm series, executed in the vigorous archaic-transitional style typical of the Thracian Chersonese mint. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Quadripartite incuse square divided into four triangular compartments by raised lines, containing alternating raised and sunken sections. Two opposing quarters bear symbolic devices: a forepart of a lion or similar quadruped motif and a five-pointed star (pentagram), while the remaining quarters each contain a circular pellet. This recurring but varied reverse type is characteristic of the Cherronesian series, with the changing symbols serving to distinguish successive issues. |
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| Additional information |
Chersonesos — the Thracian Chersonese, modern Gallipoli peninsula — was never a major mint, but its hemidrachm achieved something remarkable: it became the dominant small silver denomination across the northern Aegean grain trade for well over a century. The type circulated so far beyond its place of issue that hoards containing these coins have been found from Bulgaria to Asia Minor, often mixed with Macedonian and Thasian issues.
The striking period brackets the rise of Philip II of Macedon, whose campaigns through Thrace eventually brought the Chersonese under Macedonian control by 338 BC — the terminal date of this issue.