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Oktadrachm
| Issuer | Abdera |
|---|---|
| Year | 500 BC - 475 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | May, Abdera#38, AMNG II#13 |
| Obverse description | Griffin passant to the right in high relief, depicted with powerful leonine hindquarters, outstretched eagle wings, and serpentine neck with open beak turned upward. The creature is rendered in the vigorous Archaic style, with careful attention to musculature and feather detail. The Greek letter delta (Δ) appears in the lower left field, serving as a civic initial or magistrate's mark. A dotted border frames the circular field. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Δ |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Additional information |
Abdera's silver coinage from this period was among the heaviest and most technically accomplished in the northern Aegean, produced by a city that had been refounded by Teos around 545 BC after its original settlers were driven out by Thracian pressure. The Teian connection gave Abdera direct commercial ties to the wider Ionian trading network, and these large-denomination pieces almost certainly circulated as merchant currency across Thracian and Macedonian markets rather than in local retail exchange.
The May and AMNG references place this among the earliest post-refounding issues, predating the disruptions of the Persian campaigns through Thrace under Mardonius circa 492 BC.