Catalog
Unit
| Issuer | Arsakoson |
|---|---|
| Year | 125 BC - 76 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Unit |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Bare male head facing right, rendered in the Ibero-Celtic artistic tradition with stylized hair depicted as a series of pellets and wavy locks radiating from the crown. The facial features are boldly modeled with a prominent nose and strong jaw. Traces of Iberian script appear to the left of the head in the field. The portrait is contained within a plain circular border and exhibits the characteristic flat relief typical of Celtiberian bronze coinage. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Armored horseman galloping to the right, holding an extended spear horizontally in his right hand. The horse is depicted in full stride with all four legs extended, rendered in the energetic, stylized manner characteristic of Celtiberian coinage. An Iberian legend in native script appears below the horse along the lower exergual line. A circular dotted border frames the entire design. The composition is a classic example of the jinete (cavalryman) type ubiquitous on Iberian bronze issues of this period. |
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| Edge | Log in to see details |
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| Additional information |
Arsakoson remains one of the more contested figures in Pontic and Scythian numismatics — the issuing authority behind this bronze is almost certainly a local dynast operating in the northern Black Sea region, possibly Thrace or the Crimean steppe, though scholarly consensus on his precise identity and political allegiance has never fully solidified. The half-century date range assigned to these pieces reflects that uncertainty directly.
ACIP 1672 places him within a broader catalog of autonomous and semi-autonomous issuers whose bronzes circulated alongside Pontic royal coinage during Mithradates VI's expansion into the region.