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Tetradrachm
| Issuer | Thasos (Thracian Islands) |
|---|---|
| Year | 404 BC - 355 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Facing left, the bearded head of Dionysus is rendered in high relief in the archaic Greek style, his flowing hair and full beard executed with fine engraved detail. The god is crowned with an ivy wreath, its leaves and berries clearly articulated around the brow and temples. The portrait displays the characteristic serene, idealized expression of late Archaic to early Classical Thasian coinage, with a strongly modeled jawline and prominent facial features. The field is plain, with no legend or additional devices. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Herakles is depicted kneeling to the right in a dynamic pose, his body turned as he draws a strung bow with both arms extended. The hero wears the Nemean lion skin, its head visible over his own, serving as both helmet and mantle. A herm stands to the right of the figure as a field device. The ethnic inscription ΘΑΣΙΟΝ runs around the composition, and the entire scene is contained within a linear square border set within a deep incuse square, a hallmark of early Thasian silver coinage. |
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| Additional information |
Thasos controlled some of the most productive silver mines in the northern Aegean, and this tetradrachm belongs to the long civic series struck when the island was at the height of its commercial reach across Thrace. The city's wealth was substantial enough that Thucydides — himself a shareholder in Thracian mining concessions — was exiled in part because of his connections to the region's competing interests. These coins moved through trade networks extending deep into the Thracian interior, where they circulated well beyond their intended market.