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Tetradrachm - Mithridates VI Eupator Pergamon; EΣ H
| Issuer | Kings of Pontos |
|---|---|
| Year | 205 (92 BC) |
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| Currency | Attic drachm |
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| Obverse description | Diademed bare head of Mithridates VI Eupator facing right, rendered in the idealized Hellenistic portrait style with strongly modeled facial features, a prominent aquiline nose, and full lips. The hair is elaborately coiffed in thick, flowing locks radiating from the crown in a dynamic, almost lion-mane arrangement, secured by a royal diadem whose ties fall behind the neck. The portrait fills the flan with confident artistry, conveying both regal authority and youthful vigor characteristic of the Pontic royal coinage. The field is otherwise plain, with no surrounding legend on the obverse. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Pegasus standing left with head lowered in a grazing posture, rendered with fine detail in the Hellenistic engraving tradition. In the left field, the distinctive Pontic royal badge of a star-in-crescent symbol is prominently placed. To the right of the type, the regnal year EΣ (year 205 of the Pontic era, equating to 92 BC) appears above a monogram, while in the exergue the letter H denotes the eighth month of the Pontic calendar. The entire central design is framed within a Dionysiac wreath composed of ivy leaves and clusters of fruit. The encircling legend reads BAΣIΛEΩΣ EYΠATOPOΣ, identifying the issuer as King Eupator. |
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| Additional information |
Mithridates VI struck these tetradrachms on the Pergamene weight standard — a deliberate choice signaling his ambitions over the former Attalid kingdom after Rome foolishly allowed Bithynia and Cappadocia to destabilize the region. The date formula EΣ H places this coin in 92 BC, just two years before the First Mithridatic War, when Sulla would eventually drive Pontic forces back across Anatolia.
The Pergamene civic coinage infrastructure absorbed into Pontic production gave these issues a familiarity that eased their acceptance in western Anatolian markets — a practical consideration for a king who needed local populations to fund his campaigns.