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Octodrachm - Getas
| Issuer | Edoni (Thraco-macedonian region) |
|---|---|
| Year | 470 BC |
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| Composition | Silver |
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| Obverse description | A nude male figure, interpreted as a herdsman or local hero wearing a petasos, strides to the right between two bulls, grasping each animal by the horns in a heraldic composition. The figures are rendered in a bold, archaic style characteristic of early Thraco-Macedonian silver coinage. The legend is disposed around the field in retrograde or arranged Greek characters. The type emphasizes the pastoral and heroic character of the Edoni tribe under King Getas. |
|---|---|
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| Mintage | ND (-470) |
| Additional information |
The Edoni were a Thracian tribe whose territory in the Strymon River valley sat atop some of the richest silver deposits in the ancient world — the same mines that would later help finance Philip II of Macedon's military campaigns. Getas was among the last Edonian rulers to strike coins before Macedonian expansion eliminated these tribal issues entirely. His octodrachms belong to a brief window of independent Thracian silver production that was effectively closed by the mid-fifth century.
The weight standard followed here is Thraco-Macedonian rather than Attic, a deliberate choice that positioned these coins within regional trade networks rather than Athenian-dominated ones.