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Tetradrachm
| Issuer | Potidaia |
|---|---|
| Year | 500 BC - 480 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Tetradrachm (4) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Poseidon Hippios depicted nude, advancing on horseback to the right, his right hand extended forward brandishing a spear and his left hand gathering the reins. The god is rendered in an archaic style characteristic of early fifth-century BC Macedonian coinage. A dolphin swims to the left in the lower field, serving as an attribute of Poseidon and alluding to Potidaia's coastal maritime identity. |
|---|---|
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| Mintage | ND (500 BC - 480 BC) |
| Additional information |
Potidaia was a Corinthian colony on the Pallene peninsula of Chalcidice, and its coinage reflects that dependency — the types closely follow Corinthian conventions, which is unusual for a colony of that distance and political ambition. The city would later become one of the flashpoints of the Peloponnesian War, besieged by Athens from 432 to 429 BC after it refused to demolish its southern walls and expel its Corinthian magistrates. These tetradrachms predate that catastrophe by decades, struck when Potidaia still operated as a functioning tributary community with enough commercial traffic to justify a heavy silver issue.
The SNG ANS specimens at 688–689 remain the primary reference points for attributing this type.