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Orbis Collectibles

Thasos, tetradrachm — Nude Heracles standing facing (CN type 20806)

DocumentedSupported by at least one credible specialist source.

Record status

Individual type · research required

Period

168/167–148 BC

Issuing entity

Thrace

Tetradrachm in silver struck at Thasos in Thrace, dated 168/167–148 BC. Corpus Nummorum, the online type corpus of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, records it as CN type 20806 (period: Hellenistic Period; issuing authority type: city).

Obverse: Head of (youthful) Dionysus, right, wearing ivy wreath with berries. Reverse: Nude Heracles standing facing, head left, resting right hand on club, left hand on hip, holding lion skin in left arm. Legend: ΗΡΑΚΛΕΟΥΣ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ ΘΑΣΙΩΝ. Measured specimens give a mean weight of 16.62 g (mean of 46 recorded specimens) and a diameter of 30–37.7 mm (from 26 recorded specimens). Recorded findspots: Gradeshnitsa. Published references cited by the corpus: Prokopov, Die Silberprägung der Insel Thasos und die Tetradrachmen des "thasischen Typs" vom 2.-1. Jh. v. Chr., Berlin 2006, p. 63-82; 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. 82, nr. 358.

Evidence at a glance

Linked sources
5
Photograph views
6
Catalogue references
2

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

Historical context

The tetradrachm was a large silver coin originating in Ancient Greece that was nominally equivalent to four drachmae. It became the standard trade coin of Classical Antiquity and was widely minted in large quantities for state expenses such as military pay, while also serving as a medium for state actors to deliver political messages. This Hellenistic issue was struck at Thasos, an island located in the northern Aegean Sea.

Physical characteristics

Material
silver
Denomination
tetradrachm
Recorded diameter
30–37.7 mm (from 26 recorded specimens)
Recorded mean weight
16.62 g (mean of 46 recorded specimens)

Technical characteristics

Mint
Thasos
Region
Thrace
Authority type
City

Design

Obverse type
Head of (youthful) Dionysus, right, wearing ivy wreath with berries.
Reverse type
Nude Heracles standing facing, head left, resting right hand on club, left hand on hip, holding lion skin in left arm.
Reverse legend
ΗΡΑΚΛΕΟΥΣ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ ΘΑΣΙΩΝ

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. 7 closely related CN types with the same mint, denomination and design are consolidated into this entry and listed under varieties.
Recorded findspots
Gradeshnitsa
Type corpus record
https://www.corpus-nummorum.eu/types/20806
Type corpus identifier
CN type 20806

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

Varieties

  • CN type 20807

    Same mint, denomination and design (reverse legend ΗΡΑΚΛΕΟΥΣ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ ΘΑΣΙΩΝ); dated 168/167–148 BC. Consolidated into this entry

  • CN type 20812

    Same mint, denomination and design (reverse legend ΗΡΑΚΛΕΟΥΣ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ ΘΑΣΙΩΝ); dated 168/167–148 BC. Consolidated into this entry

  • CN type 20901

    Same mint, denomination and design (reverse legend ΗΡΑΚΛΕΟΥΣ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ ΘΑΣΙΩΝ); dated 168/167–148 BC. Consolidated into this entry

  • CN type 20937

    Same mint, denomination and design (reverse legend ΗΡΑΚΛΕΟΥΣ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ ΘΑΣΙΩΝ); dated 148–90/80 BC. Consolidated into this entry

  • CN type 20938

    Same mint, denomination and design (reverse legend ΗΡΑΚΛΕΟΥΣ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ ΘΑΣΙΩΝ); dated 148–90/80 BC. Consolidated into this entry

  • CN type 20939

    Same mint, denomination and design (reverse legend ΗΡΑΚΛΕΟΥΣ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ ΘΑΣΙΩΝ); dated 148–90/80 BC. Consolidated into this entry

  • CN type 20943

    Same mint, denomination and design (reverse legend ΗΡΑΚΛΕΟΥΣ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ ΘΑΣΙΩΝ); dated 148–90/80 BC. Consolidated into this entry

Research required

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