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Tetradrachm - Matron
| Issuer | Abydos |
|---|---|
| Year | 100 BC - 65 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Round (irregular) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Eagle standing to right with wings spread, depicted in a bold Hellenistic style; to the right, a swan (?) also standing to right with wings spread serves as a secondary device in the field. The entire composition is enclosed within a laurel wreath border. The Greek legend ABYΔHNΩN MATPΩNOΣ, identifying the civic issuer of Abydos and the magistrate Matron, is inscribed within the wreath. |
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| Mintage | ND (100 BC - 65 BC) |
| Additional information |
Abydos, the Mysian city controlling the narrowest point of the Hellespont, struck these tetradrachms during a period of serious geopolitical turbulence — the region passed under Pontic domination during Mithridates VI's westward expansion before Rome reasserted control following the First Mithridatic War. The so-called "Matron" type belongs to a civic coinage tradition Abydos maintained with unusual persistence through these upheavals, suggesting the city retained meaningful autonomy in its monetary affairs even under foreign pressure.
The type designation derives from 19th-century scholarship and the attribution remains debated in specialist literature.