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Tetradrachm
| Issuer | Samos |
|---|---|
| Year | 150 BC - 125 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Tetradrachm (4) |
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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 | Laureate head of Zeus facing right, rendered in high relief with exceptional sculptural quality. The god is depicted with a full, flowing beard and long wavy hair cascading behind the neck, partially enveloped by a prominent olive wreath. The facial features are boldly modeled in the Hellenistic tradition, conveying divine authority and naturalistic musculature. The flat, incuse field surrounding the portrait is characteristic of late Hellenistic Samian coinage. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Samos operated under varying degrees of Ptolemaic and later Roman influence during the second century BC, and its civic coinage of this period reflects a city reasserting autonomous identity after decades of foreign garrison. The island had been a major Ptolemaic naval base; its return to self-governance under Roman aegis prompted a renewed civic minting program of which this tetradrachm is a product.
The GCV 4664A reference places this among the later Samian civic issues, struck to the reduced Attic standard that had become practical currency across the Aegean by this point.