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Tetradrachm Olynthos
| Issuer | Chalkidean League |
|---|---|
| Year | 383 BC - 379 BC |
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| Currency | Drachm |
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| Obverse description | Laureate head of Apollo facing left, rendered in fine classical style with idealized youthful features. The hair is arranged in flowing curls beneath a wreath of laurel leaves, secured at the brow and extending to the nape. The portrait displays a high degree of artistic refinement characteristic of the mature Chalkidean coinage, with delicately modeled facial contours and a subtly parted lip. The neck is bare, and the entire effigy is set within a broad, smooth field on the irregular flan. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
The Chalkidian League's silver coinage was struck at Olynthos, the federation's dominant city, during a period of acute military pressure. Sparta, alarmed by the League's growing power in northern Greece, launched a campaign that culminated in the forced dissolution of the federation in 379 BC under the terms imposed after Olynthos fell. These tetradrachms were among the last issues before Sparta compelled the League's disbandment — making the 379 BC terminus not an administrative decision but a military one.
Robinson & Clement's die study identified the sequence across issues 121–132 as a late production group, struck in the final years before the city's capitulation.