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Tetradrachm - Mithridates VI Eupator Pergamon; ϹΣ Z
| Issuer | Kings of Pontos |
|---|---|
| Year | 206 (91 BC) |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Reverse description | Pegasus, the winged horse, standing left in a grazing posture with head lowered to the ground, rendered in fine Hellenistic style. In the left field, the Pontic royal badge of a star-in-crescent is prominently displayed. To the right field, the Bithynian-Pontic regnal year ϹΣ (year 206 of the Pontic era, corresponding to 91 BC) appears above a monogram. The month letter Z appears in the exergue, indicating the seventh month of issue. The entire design is enclosed within a Dionysiac wreath of ivy branches and fruit, a distinctive framing device associated with Mithridates VI's tetradrachm coinage. The encircling Greek legend reads BAΣIΛEΩΣ MIΘPAΔATOY EYΠATOPOΣ, identifying the issuer as King Mithridates Eupator. |
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| Reverse lettering | BAΣIΛEΩΣ MIΘPAΔATOY EYΠATOPOΣ ϹΣ Z |
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| Additional information |
Mithridates VI dated his coinage using the Bithynian era, making year ΣΖ (207 by some reckonings, 206 by others) a product of the early 80s BC — the period immediately following his stunning first war against Rome, when Pontic forces briefly overran most of Asia Minor and Mithridates ordered the massacre of some 80,000 Italian residents in a single coordinated day in 88 BC. The Pergamon mint, absorbed into his expanding domain, struck these tetradrachms as instruments of economic control over the wealthiest city in Asia.
The Pergamon issues are distinguished from other Mithridatic tetradrachms by subtle die characteristics catalogued by Wheaton; this specimen carries the ΣΖ date within the control mark sequence.