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Tetradrachm - Straton
| Issuer | Kyme (Aeolis) |
|---|---|
| Year | 160 BC - 150 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 16.75 g |
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| Obverse description | Bare head of Apollo facing right, rendered in fine Hellenistic style with elaborately detailed curling hair swept back and bound with a laurel wreath, the locks arranged in voluminous waves and ringlets about the nape of the neck. The facial features are delicately modeled with a smooth, idealized profile characteristic of the Pergamene artistic tradition prevalent in second-century BC Aeolis. The field is unlettered, with no legend, allowing the portrait to dominate the flan. The die-cutting exhibits considerable refinement, with sharp relief in the hair contrasting with the smoothly rendered cheek and chin. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A prancing horse standing right with one foreleg raised, depicted with musculature carefully rendered in high relief, positioned before a skyphos (drinking cup) set on the ground. The entire central device is enclosed within a broad, finely detailed laurel wreath tied at the base with a crossing band. The ethnic legend KYMAIΩN is inscribed in the upper right field within the wreath, while the magistrate's name ΣTPATΩN appears below the horse along the exergual line, identifying Straton as the issuing authority. The composition is well-centered and characteristic of the civic tetradrachm coinage of Kyme in the mid-second century BC. |
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| Additional information |
Kyme was the largest and most prosperous of the Aeolian cities, yet it produced civic coinage only sporadically — this magistrate series, naming individuals like Straton as the responsible official, belongs to a concentrated burst of silver output that appears to have coincided with the city's need to finance local obligations under the loose suzerainty of Pergamon. The Attalid kingdom controlled the region during this period but permitted allied cities considerable monetary autonomy provided tribute obligations were met.
The Straton issues are well-documented across the Oakley corpus, with die linkages suggesting a compact production run rather than extended minting.