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Hemidrachm Dot X/Lizard
| Issuer | Cherronesos (Thrace) |
|---|---|
| Year | 357 BC - 320 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Quadripartite incuse square divided by two intersecting diagonals into four triangular quarters, with alternating raised and sunken sections in the standard Chersonesos hemidrachm arrangement. The upper-left raised quarter bears a pellet and an X symbol as control marks, while the diagonally opposite sunken quarter displays a lizard as an additional control mark. These countermarks served as issuing authority identifiers and are instrumental in cataloguing the extensive series of Chersonesos coinage. The incuse square is deeply struck with sharp, well-defined borders. |
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| Mint | Chersonesos (Thrace) |
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| Additional information |
Chersonesos (the Thracian Chersonese, modern Gallipoli peninsula) operated as a semi-autonomous mint throughout the fourth century, producing hemidrachms in enormous quantities to service the grain trade running through the Hellespont. The city's coinage was so commercially trusted across the Aegean that it continued striking to the same standard even after Macedonian expansion under Philip II effectively ended its political independence around 338 BC.
The control marks — here a dot and lizard on the reverse — were used to track individual die pairs or magistrate oversight, though the precise administrative logic behind Chersonesian controls remains unresolved in the scholarship.