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Orbis Collectibles

Sestos, middle denomination (Bronze) — Thyrsos (CN type 11946)

DocumentedSupported by at least one credible specialist source.

Record status

Individual type · research required

Period

c. 150–100 BC

Issuing entity

Thrace

Middle denomination (Bronze) struck at Sestos in Thrace, dated c. 150–100 BC. Corpus Nummorum, the online type corpus of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, records it as CN type 11946 (period: Hellenistic Period; issuing authority type: city).

Obverse: Head of (youthful) Dionysos wearing ivy wreath, facing. Reverse: Thyrsos. Legend: ΣΗΣΤΙ. Measured specimens give a mean weight of 1.97 g (mean of 2 recorded specimens) and a diameter of 13.1–14 mm (from 2 recorded specimens). Published references cited by the corpus: Fritze, Sestos. Die Menas-Inschrift und das Münzwesen der Stadt 1, 1907, p. 7, nr. 22, pl. 1,35; Hoover, Handbook of coins of Macedon and its neighbors. Part II: Thrace, Skythia, and Taurike: sixth to first centuries BC, Lancaster, Pa. London 2017, p. 174, nr. 1657; Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum Kopenhagen 6/2, Kopenhagen, nr. 942-943; Poole, BMC. Catalogue of Greek coins: the Tauric Chersonese, Sarmatia, Dacia, Moesia, Thrace, &c., Bologna 1979, p. 199, nr. 10.

Evidence at a glance

Linked sources
6
Photograph views
1
Catalogue references
4

Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.

Historical context

Sestos was an ancient Greek city situated in Thrace on the Thracian Chersonese peninsula. Positioned on the European coast of the Hellespont, it lay directly opposite the ancient city of Abydos, near the modern town of Eceabat in Turkey. In classical tradition, the settlement was famed in Greek mythology as the home of Hero from the tale of Hero and Leander.

Physical characteristics

Material
bronze
Denomination
middle denomination (Bronze)
Recorded diameter
13.1–14 mm (from 2 recorded specimens)
Recorded mean weight
1.97 g (mean of 2 recorded specimens)

Technical characteristics

Mint
Sestos
Region
Thrace
Authority type
City

Design

Obverse type
Head of (youthful) Dionysos wearing ivy wreath, facing.
Reverse type
Thyrsos
Reverse legend
ΣΗΣΤΙ

Identification

Period
Hellenistic Period
How to identify
Check the mint name or ethnic, the reverse type and the legend together, then compare weight and module; types from the same mint often differ only in legend arrangement, magistrate names or control marks.
Type corpus record
https://www.corpus-nummorum.eu/types/11946
Type corpus identifier
CN type 11946

Documentation checklist

Denomination
Recorded
Issue or mint date
Recorded
Material
Recorded
Weight
Recorded
Mint or printer
Recorded
Mint or printer mark
Research required
Catalogue reference
Recorded
Attached photograph (check rights)
Recorded

Recorded means a field is present, not independently verified. Read its wording, supporting source and the entry’s confidence level.

Catalogue references

Research required

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