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Orbis Collectibles

Istros, bronze coin — Sea-eagle on dolphin standing right (CN type 23180)

DocumentedSupported by at least one credible specialist source.

Record status

Individual type · research required

Period

c. first half of the 1st century BC

Issuing entity

Moesia inferior

Coin in bronze struck at Istros in Moesia inferior, dated c. first half of the 1st century BC. Corpus Nummorum, the online type corpus of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, records it as CN type 23180 (period: Hellenistic Period; issuing authority type: city).

Obverse: Apollo seated left on omphalos, holding arrow in outstretched right hand, resting left hand on bow behind him. Reverse: Sea-eagle on dolphin standing right. Legend: ΙΣΤΡΙ ΑΡΙ[..]. Measured specimens give a mean weight of 3.76 g (from 1 recorded specimen) and a diameter of 18 mm (from 1 recorded specimen). Published references cited by the corpus: Pick, Die antiken Münzen Nord-Griechenlands. 1. Die antiken Münzen von Dacien und Moesien. 1. Halbbd. I 1, Berlin 1898, p. 169, nr. 479.

Evidence at a glance

Linked sources
3
Photograph views
1
Catalogue references
1

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

Historical context

This bronze coin was issued during the Hellenistic Period, dated to around the first half of the 1st century BC, by the city of Istros in Moesia inferior. Also known as Histria, Istros was originally established as a Greek colony or polis in the 7th century BC by Milesian settlers on the western coast of the Black Sea, near the mouth of the Danube.

Physical characteristics

Material
bronze
Recorded diameter
18 mm (from 1 recorded specimens)
Recorded mean weight
3.76 g (mean of 1 recorded specimens)

Technical characteristics

Mint
Istros
Region
Moesia inferior
Authority type
City

Design

Obverse type
Apollo seated left on omphalos, holding arrow in outstretched right hand, resting left hand on bow behind him.
Reverse type
Sea-eagle on dolphin standing right.
Reverse legend
ΙΣΤΡΙ ΑΡΙ[...]

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/23180
Type corpus identifier
CN type 23180

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

  • Photograph reuse terms to be confirmed with the holding institution
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