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Orbis Collectibles

Apollonia Pontike, drachm (siglos) — Incuse with four colliding embola (CN type 21166)

DocumentedSupported by at least one credible specialist source.

Record status

Individual type · research required

Period

c. 512–465 BC

Issuing entity

Thrace

Drachm (siglos) in silver struck at Apollonia Pontike in Thrace, dated c. 512–465 BC. Corpus Nummorum, the online type corpus of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, records it as CN type 21166 (period: Archaic/Classical Period; issuing authority type: city).

Obverse: Inverted anchor; under right fluke, crayfish. Reverse: Incuse with four colliding embola; inbetween dolphins swimming left. No specimen weights or diameters are recorded for this type yet. The corpus assigns the type to the Chian weight standard. Published references cited by the corpus: Schwabacher, Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum. Copenhagen. The Royal Collection of Coins and Medals. Danish National Museum. Part 7: Thrace 2: Odessus - Sestos. Islands. Kings and Dynasts 7, Copenhagen 1943, nr. 453; Price, Sylloge nummorum Graecorum 9 The British Museum 1. The Black Sea, 1993, nr. 150-152.

Evidence at a glance

Linked sources
4
Photograph views
1
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

In antiquity, the site of modern Sozopol on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast hosted a prosperous Greek colony originally named Antheia and later known as Apollonia. The siglos served as a silver coin alongside the Persian daric under the bimetallic monetary standard of the Achaemenid Empire, which produced coinage from 520 BCE–450 BCE down to 330 BCE. This Archaic to Classical period drachm (siglos) was struck at Apollonia Pontike in Thrace on the Chian weight standard.

Physical characteristics

Material
silver
Denomination
drachm (siglos)

Technical characteristics

Mint
Apollonia Pontike
Region
Thrace
Authority type
City
Weight standard
Chian

Design

Obverse type
Inverted anchor; under right fluke, crayfish.
Reverse type
Incuse with four colliding embola; inbetween dolphins swimming left.

Identification

Period
Archaic/Classical 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/21166
Type corpus identifier
CN type 21166

Documentation checklist

Denomination
Recorded
Issue or mint date
Recorded
Material
Recorded
Weight
Research required
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

  • Weight not recorded in the source corpus
  • Diameter not recorded in the source corpus
  • Legends not transcribed in the source corpus
  • Photograph reuse terms to be confirmed with the holding institution
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