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Tetrachalkon - Mithridates VI
| Issuer | Amisos |
|---|---|
| Year | 85 BC - 65 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 7.3 g |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A cista mystica — the sacred wicker basket of the Dionysiac mysteries — depicted centrally, its latticed body surmounted by a panther skin draped over it with the animal's pelt spread to either side. A thyrsus, the fennel staff of Dionysos, stands upright behind the cista. Monograms appear in the left and right fields flanking the central device, serving as mint control marks. The ethnic legend ΑΜΙΣΟΥ is inscribed in the lower field in large Greek letters, identifying the issuing city of Amisos. |
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| Mintage | ND (85 BC - 65 BC) |
| Additional information |
Amisos, a Black Sea port city with deep Greek roots, fell firmly within the Pontic kingdom's orbit under Mithridates VI, who transformed it into a royal mint city and granted it a degree of civic autonomy. These bronzes were struck during a turbulent stretch that encompassed the First, Second, and Third Mithridatic Wars — the protracted series of conflicts in which the Pontic king came closer than any eastern ruler since Hannibal to breaking Roman power in the Mediterranean world. Production likely continued until Pompey's final campaign forced Mithridates to flee to the Crimea, where he died in 63 BC attempting to raise yet another army.
Malloy 26f distinguishes this among several Amisene civic bronze types circulating concurrently under royal sanction.