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!
Stater
| Issuer | Tarentum |
|---|---|
| Year | 272 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Gold |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| 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 | Laureate head of Zeus facing right, rendered with vigorous Hellenistic artistry; the god's flowing beard and thick, curling hair are depicted in high relief with exceptional detail. A laurel wreath crowns the head, its leaves and berries clearly articulated. In the left field behind the head appears the monogram NK, serving as a magistrate's or mint-control mark. The portrait conveys the majestic and powerful character associated with the supreme Olympian deity. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Greek |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Tarentum struck gold coinage only under extreme duress — the city had no tradition of gold issues, and the appearance of this stater almost certainly reflects the financial strain of maintaining Pyrrhus of Epirus as a military ally against Rome. By 272 BC, that alliance had collapsed entirely; Pyrrhus had withdrawn to Greece the previous year, and the city was negotiating its surrender to Rome. This piece was minted at the very end of Tarentine independence, making it among the last autonomous gold issues the city would ever produce.