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 - Charisthenes
| Issuer | Polyrhenion |
|---|---|
| Year | 320 BC - 270 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Silver |
| 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 in high relief with vigorous Hellenistic artistry. The deity is depicted bearded, with thick, flowing locks of hair falling behind the neck and a prominent laurel wreath encircling the head. The strong, mature facial features — including a broad nose, deeply set eye, and full beard with curling locks — are characteristic of the Zeus type prevalent in Cretan coinage of the early Hellenistic period. The design is contained within a dotted border, with the field otherwise plain. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | ΠΟΛΥΡΗΝΙΩΝ |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Polyrrhenia was one of the more durable independent poleis of western Crete, maintaining its autonomy through shifting Hellenistic alliances long after many island cities had been absorbed into larger power networks. The magistrate name Charisthenes appearing on this stater places it within a series of issues that named responsible civic officials — a practice that served administrative rather than honorific purposes, helping track monetary accountability within the mint. Crete's staters of this period circulated heavily in mercenary payment networks; Cretan soldiers were among the most sought after in the eastern Mediterranean, and coined silver moved with them.