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Tetartemorion
| Issuer | Pantikapaion |
|---|---|
| Year | 460 BC - 400 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Tetartemorion (1⁄24) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Facing forepart of an ant rendered in a schematic, archaic style, occupying the central field of the flan. The eight legs of the ant are splayed symmetrically to either side, and the head is depicted with a globular form at the lower center. The design is boldly struck for the diminutive size of the coin, reflecting the characteristic artistic convention of Pantikapaion's earliest silver fractions. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Pantikapaion — the dominant Greek colony at the mouth of the Cimmerian Bosporus — issued these fractional silvers to facilitate small-scale trade in a region where grain, salted fish, and slaves moved in enormous volume but daily transactions required something far smaller than a stater. At roughly a quarter-obol, the tetartemorion was the smallest practical denomination in the Greek monetary system, and the Pontic colonies relied on them heavily given the granular nature of market exchange with local Scythian populations.
MacDonald 10 is among the earliest attributed issues from the mint, predating the famous pan-and-griffin stater series.