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Tetradrachm
| Issuer | Thasos |
|---|---|
| Year | 411 BC - 340 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Bearded head of Dionysos facing left, rendered in high relief with fine sculptural detail characteristic of late Archaic to early Classical Greek coinage. The deity is crowned with an elaborate ivy wreath, the leaves and berries rendered with naturalistic precision. Long, wavy hair flows behind the head in thick, carefully articulated locks, while a full beard is depicted with undulating curls. The field is plain and unlettered, the portrait occupying nearly the full flan in a bold and imposing composition. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Thasos built its monetary weight on Thracian silver — the island controlled rich mines on the adjacent mainland coast, and these tetradrachms circulated widely as a trusted trade currency across the northern Aegean. The type was struck over a long span precisely because it worked: merchants from Macedon to the Black Sea accepted it without question, which is why so many surface in hoards far outside Thasian territory.
The archaic style deliberately persisted long after Thasos was capable of updating it — conservative die-cutting was a commercial choice, not an artistic one.