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Stater
| Issuer | Ambrakia |
|---|---|
| Year | 426 BC - 404 BC |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Drachm |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Helmeted head of Athena in profile to the right, wearing a Corinthian helmet adorned with a crest. Behind the neck guard of the helmet, a small naked winged figure (Eros or Nike) is depicted riding a dolphin to the right, serving as the distinctive civic badge of Ambrakia. The reverse is struck within a shallow incuse square, and no encircling legend is present, the design elements serving as the principal ethnic identifier of the issuing city. |
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| Mint | Ambrakia |
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| Additional information |
Ambrakia was a Corinthian colony on the Ambrakian Gulf, and its coinage closely followed the Corinthian weight standard — unsurprising given the colonial tie, but the city maintained its own distinct magistrate issues throughout. The dating of this series to 426–404 BC places it squarely within the Peloponnesian War, during which Ambrakia suffered catastrophically: the city lost the majority of its adult male population at the Battle of Idomene in 426 BC, a defeat Thucydides called the greatest disaster to befall any Greek city relative to its size in the entire war.
Ravel's classification of this piece as Colt 128 places it within a closely sequenced die study that has remained the authoritative reference for Ambrakian staters since its 1936 publication.