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Tetradrachm
| Issuer | Tenedos |
|---|---|
| Year | 100 BC - 70 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Tetradrachm (4) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Janiform double-portrait depicting two conjoined heads facing outward in opposite directions: to the left, a laureate and bearded head of Zeus, and to the right, a diademed head of Hera. The juxtaposition of the divine couple in this distinctive janiform arrangement is a hallmark of Tenedian coinage, rendered in the Hellenistic style with finely engraved facial details. The portraits are positioned symmetrically, sharing a common neck, a composition unique in Greek civic coinage. The field is plain, with no surrounding legend on the obverse. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse script | Greek |
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| Additional information |
Tenedos, the small island at the mouth of the Hellespont, issued coinage with an authority disproportionate to its size — its strategic position on the primary shipping lane between the Aegean and the Black Sea gave it genuine economic leverage. By the late second century BC, the island was producing these substantial silver pieces likely to facilitate exactly the kind of large-scale commercial transit that passed through its waters. The dating of this series places it squarely within the period of Roman reorganization of Asia Minor following the destruction of Corinth and Carthage in 146 BC, when regional minting patterns across the Aegean shifted considerably.
The fabric is characteristically broad and thin for late Hellenistic Asia Minor production.