Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Tetradrachm
| Issuer | Mende (Macedon) |
|---|---|
| Year | 460 BC - 423 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Tetradrachm (4) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Dionysus, wreathed with ivy, reclines in a relaxed symposiastic pose upon the back of a walking ass, holding a cantharus in his outstretched right hand. The composition is rendered in a lively, archaic-transitional style characteristic of northern Greek coinage. A small bird perches to the right upon a branch positioned before the ass. The finely detailed depiction of the god and his sacred animal conveys the religious and festive associations of the Dionysiac cult central to Mende's civic identity. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A grapevine with spreading branches laden with clusters of grapes is depicted in high relief at the centre of a linear square border, symbolising the renowned wine production of Mende in the Chalcidian peninsula. The ethnic legend ΜΕΝΔΑΙΟΝ is inscribed in archaic Greek characters, distributed around the four sides of the linear square. The entire design is set within a shallow incuse square, a hallmark of early Greek silver coinage technique. The bold, naturalistic rendering of the vine reflects the high artistic standards of Macedonian regional minting in the fifth century BC. |
| Reverse script | Greek |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information | Log in to see details |