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Tetradrachm - Mithridates VI Eupator Pergamon; HKΣ
| Issuer | Kings of Pontos |
|---|---|
| Year | 228 (69 BC) |
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| Currency | Attic drachm |
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| Obverse description | Diademed head of Mithridates VI Eupator facing right, rendered in the Hellenistic royal portrait tradition with idealizing features evoking Alexander the Great. The king is depicted with flowing, wild locks of hair swept back from the forehead, a strong aquiline profile, and a smooth youthful countenance conveying divine heroism. A plain diadem, the symbol of Hellenistic kingship, is tied around the head with the ends visible behind the neck. The flan is slightly irregular, as is typical of hand-struck issues of this series. No legend appears on the obverse. |
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| Mint | Pergamum, Mysia, modern-day Bergama, Turkey |
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| Additional information |
This piece belongs to the final phase of Mithridates VI's coinage, struck as his kingdom was collapsing under Roman pressure during the Third Mithridatic War. The Pergamon mint had fallen under Pontic control during the king's earlier western campaigns, and continued striking in his name even as Lucullus — and later Pompey — systematically dismantled his empire. The regnal year 228 of the Pontic era places this coin in 69 BC, the same year Lucullus sacked Sinope and Amisos.
De Callataÿ's die studies have established that late Pontic tetradrachms from Pergamon are considerably rarer than their Amisos counterparts. The HKΣ control mark helps anchor this piece within that chronology.