Catalog
Triens - Aspurgus
| Issuer | Bosporan Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Year | 9-14 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Bare head of Heracles facing right, depicted in the Classical tradition with strong, naturalistic facial features including a prominent beard and furrowed brow. The portrait is set within a beaded border, occupying the full field of the flan. The style reflects Hellenistic artistic conventions prevalent in Pontic coinage of the early first century AD. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Aspurgus founded the dynasty that would govern the Bosporan Kingdom under Roman client-king status for the next three centuries, having consolidated power after eliminating rival claimants — likely including members of his own family — around the turn of the first millennium. This issue falls precisely within the transitional years when he was securing recognition from Augustus, a relationship that defined Bosporan coinage policy for generations. The Anokhin and MacDonald references place this among a tightly clustered series of small copper fractions whose attribution to specific regnal years remains contested among specialists.