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Tetradrachm - Melanippo

Issuer Abdera
Year 450 BC - 425 BC
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Reference(s) May, Abdera#161-162, AMNG II#55, Jameson#1033, Mionnet 1#365.5, Weber#2373
Obverse description Griffin springing to left in high relief, depicted with powerful leonine hindquarters, scaled body, and finely rendered spread wings with detailed feathering. The creature's beaked head is turned alertly, and its forepaws are raised in a dynamic, leaping posture. A cantharus (kantharos) is positioned in the upper field above the griffin's back. The composition fills the flan with confident, vigorous artistry characteristic of the Classical period coinage of Abdera. A beaded border encircles the design.
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Reverse description A raised quadripartite incuse square, divided into four triangular sections by diagonal lines meeting at the centre, all set within a shallow outer incuse square — a hallmark of early Classical Thracian coinage. The Greek legend naming the magistrate Melanippos is disposed around the central incuse square, reading EΠI MEΛA – NIΠ – ΠO, identifying this issue as struck under the eponymous magistracy of Melanippos. The incuse technique reflects the archaic die-cutting tradition maintained at Abdera well into the fifth century BC.
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Mintage ND (450 BC - 425 BC)
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