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Obol
| Issuer | Kroton |
|---|---|
| Year | 430 BC - 420 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Tripod depicted in the field, rendered in archaic incuse style characteristic of early South Italian coinage from Kroton. The tripod, a sacred symbol of Apollo and the civic emblem of Kroton, is shown frontally with cauldron above and three legs splaying outward to the base. The design is executed in low relief with a slightly irregular flan typical of hammered silver coinage of this period. No legend appears on this side. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Greek |
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| Additional information |
Kroton's coinage of this period reflects the city's recovery after a catastrophic military defeat at the Sagras River — a loss to the Lokroi sometime in the late 6th century that ancient sources claim cost Kroton 130,000 men, a figure almost certainly exaggerated but indicative of a genuinely crippling blow. That the city sustained a functioning civic mint producing fractional silver into the late 5th century speaks to real economic resilience. HN Italy 2160 places this obol within a series that employs the distinctive incuse technique associated with Pythagorean-influenced southern Italian mints, though by this decade the pure incuse style was already giving way to raised reverse types.