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Tetradrachm
| Issuer | Thasos (Thracian Islands) |
|---|---|
| Year | 148 BC - 80 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Drachm |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Herakles depicted standing in three-quarter pose facing left, nude save for the Nemean lion's skin draped over his left arm and shoulder. His right hand rests upon a grounded club, while his powerful, muscular figure is rendered in a bold Hellenistic style. The inscription ΗΡΑΚΛΕΟΥΣ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ appears to the right of the figure, with ΘΑΣΙΩΝ below, reading 'of Herakles the Saviour, of the Thasians.' A monogram appears in the left field, serving as a control mark identifying the issuing authority or magistrate. The composition closely follows the standard Thasian late tetradrachm type established after circa 148 BC. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | ΗΡΑΚΛΕΟΥΣ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ ΘΑΣΙΩΝ |
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| Additional information |
After Thasos lost its independence to Macedon and later came under Roman influence, the city was permitted to resume autonomous coinage around 148 BC — the same year Rome dissolved the Macedonian kingdom following the Battle of Pydna's aftermath. The resulting tetradrachm series was struck in enormous quantities over several decades, flooding the northern Aegean and Thracian interior as a trade currency far beyond the island itself. Hoards from Bulgaria and Romania attest to how deeply this coinage penetrated continental markets.
The type was struck so prolifically, and by so many hands, that die quality varies dramatically across the series. Le Rider's classification distinguishes over 200 obverse dies.