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Stater
| Issuer | Aspendos |
|---|---|
| Year | 380 BC - 325 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Two nude wrestlers depicted in dynamic grappling pose, facing one another and locked at the arms and torso, rendered in high relief with naturalistic musculature characteristic of the classical Greek style. The figures are shown full-length, each bending forward as they struggle for dominance. The ethnic abbreviation 'AA' (for Aspendos) appears in the field between the wrestlers' legs. The design is enclosed within a beaded border, and the entire composition is set within a shallow incuse square. |
|---|---|
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| Mintage | ND (380 BC - 325 BC) |
| Additional information |
Aspendos in Pamphylia struck these staters primarily to fund mercenary payments — the city was a known supplier of soldiers to Persian satraps and competing powers throughout the fourth century. The coins circulated widely across the eastern Mediterranean precisely because mercenaries spent them far from home.
The Aspendian wrestling scene on the reverse is one of the most discussed iconographic problems in Greek numismatics, its exact ritual or civic meaning still unresolved. SNG France 81 places this piece within a well-documented die sequence, though the series as a whole shows considerable variation in die alignment and fabric.