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Orbis Collectibles

Hephaistia, bronze coin — Caduceus (CN type 12889)

DocumentedSupported by at least one credible specialist source.

Record status

Individual type · research required

Period

c. 300–250 BC

Issuing entity

Thrace

Coin in bronze struck at Hephaistia in Thrace, dated c. 300–250 BC. Corpus Nummorum, the online type corpus of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, records it as CN type 12889 (period: Hellenistic Period; issuing authority type: city).

Obverse: Head of Athena, left, wearing Corinthian helmet. Reverse: Caduceus, flanked by caps of the Dioscuri surmounted by stars. Legend: ΗΦΑΙ. Measured specimens give a mean weight of 2.13 g (mean of 3 recorded specimens) and a diameter of 11–14 mm (from 4 recorded specimens). Published references cited by the corpus: o. A., Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum. Greece 7. The KIKPE Collection of Bronze Coins, Volume I, 2012, nr. 341, pl. 34; Bloesch, Griechische Münzen in Winterthur, Winterthur 1987, p. 119, nr. 1277; Hoover and Ashton, Handbook of Coins of the Islands: Adriatic, Ionian, Thracian, Aegean and Carpathian Seas (Excluding Crete and Cyprus): Sixth to First Centuries BC, Lancaster 2010, p. 61, nr. 294.

Evidence at a glance

Linked sources
5
Photograph views
1
Catalogue references
3

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

Historical context

Hephaistia, or Hephaestia, was an ancient Greek town situated on the northern shore of Lemnos, an island in the northern Aegean Sea. Named in honour of the Greek god of metallurgy, Hephaistos, whose cult was observed there, it had previously served as the island's capital between the 8th and 6th centuries BCE. This bronze piece was struck by the city during the Hellenistic Period, c. 300–250 BC.

Physical characteristics

Material
bronze
Recorded diameter
11–14 mm (from 4 recorded specimens)
Recorded mean weight
2.13 g (mean of 3 recorded specimens)

Technical characteristics

Mint
Hephaistia
Region
Thrace
Authority type
City

Design

Obverse type
Head of Athena, left, wearing Corinthian helmet.
Reverse type
Caduceus, flanked by caps of the Dioscuri surmounted by stars.
Reverse legend
ΗΦΑΙ

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/12889
Type corpus identifier
CN type 12889

Documentation checklist

Denomination
Research required
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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