Stater - Kotys II Hadrian

Kotys II ruled the Bosporan Kingdom as a client king under Roman suzerainty, and this stater reflects the peculiar dual allegiance that defined Bosporan coinage of the period — the obverse bearing the reigning Roman emperor while the Bosporan dynast appeared on the reverse, a convention that made the kingdom's political subordination literally visible in precious metal. Hadrian's visit to the Black Sea region around 131–132 AD may have prompted a fresh issue, as client kingdoms routinely marked imperial attention with new coin series.

The gold stater tradition at the Bosporan mint stretches back centuries, but by the 2nd century the alloy had declined significantly from Hellenistic-era fineness. Specimens from this reign show considerable variation in gold purity across the Anokhin sequence.