Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Tetradrachm - Zopiros
| Issuer | Apollonia Pontika |
|---|---|
| Year | 375 BC - 325 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 17.06 g |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Upright anchor occupying the central field, flanked by the Greek letter alpha (Α) in the left field and a crayfish (astacus) in the right field, the crayfish serving as a secondary civic symbol of Apollonia Pontika. The entire device is set within a shallow incuse square, a hallmark of early and Classical coinage from this Black Sea mint. The anchor, primary emblem of Apollonia, is rendered with voluted flukes and a prominent crossbar, symbolizing the city's maritime identity and commercial importance. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Apollonia Pontika |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Apollonia Pontica — the Black Sea colony founded by Miletus in the 7th century BC — produced tetradrachms under the magistrate name Zopiros during a period when the city was consolidating its commercial reach across Pontic trade routes. The magistrate system used by Apollonia means these issues are tied to specific officials rather than rulers, making the Zopiros attribution an administrative rather than a dynastic one.
Kostial 158 places this squarely within the city's classical silver coinage, a series known for inconsistent die alignment and variable flan preparation.