Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Sestertius - Kotys II
| Issuer | Bosporan Kingdom (Bosporos) |
|---|---|
| Year | 129-130 |
| 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 | 6.00 g |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A laurel wreath encircles the central field, its branches tied at the base and arching symmetrically to frame the denominational inscription. Within the wreath, the Greek numeral ΛΗ appears prominently in the upper field, with the letters ΩΝ (or partial legend) beneath, together denoting the coin's value of 48 units within the Bosporan reckoning system. The wreath motif is a hallmark of Bosporan bronze coinage and is rendered with characteristic provincial boldness. The border of the flan shows the irregular outline typical of hammered Bosporan issues. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Plain |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Kotys II ruled the Bosporan Kingdom as a client king under Rome, and his coinage reflects that dependency precisely — his issues were struck in parallel with Hadrian's imperial visit to the eastern provinces, a tour that reshaped client relationships across the Black Sea littoral. The Bosporan sestertius denomination was itself an adaptation of Roman monetary vocabulary applied to a Greek civic tradition, producing a hybrid coinage that satisfied neither system fully but functioned adequately in the grain-trade economy that made the Cimmerian Bosporus strategically indispensable to Rome.
Anokhin's cataloguing of this type identified meaningful die linkages across the 129–130 issues, suggesting a concentrated mint effort rather than continuous production.