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Orbis Collectibles

Kardia, Kardia C — Ethnic within grain ear wreath (CN type 484)

DocumentedSupported by at least one credible specialist source.

Record status

Individual type · research required

Period

c. 357/346–309 BC

Issuing entity

Thrace

Kardia C in bronze struck at Kardia in Thrace, dated c. 357/346–309 BC. Corpus Nummorum, the online type corpus of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, records it as CN type 484 (period: Hellenistic Period; issuing authority type: city).

Obverse: Forepart of a lion, left, breaking spear in jaws; all within linear square. Reverse: Ethnic within grain ear wreath. Legend: ΚΑΡ. Measured specimens give a mean weight of 1.48 g (mean of 2 recorded specimens) and a diameter of 12 mm (from 2 recorded specimens). Published references cited by the corpus: Tzvetkova, The Coinage of Kardia 13, 2009, p. 48, nr. 153-155; 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. 113, nr. 1486.

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

Cardia, or Kardia, was anciently the chief town of the Thracian Chersonese, situated at the head of the Gulf of Melas. Originally established as a colony of the Milesians and Clazomenians, the settlement later accepted Athenian colonists during the time of Miltiades in the late 6th century BC, as demonstrated by the tyranny of Miltiades between 515 and 493 BC. This Hellenistic period civic issue dates to c. 357/346–309 BC, produced by the city authority in Thrace.

Physical characteristics

Material
bronze
Denomination
Kardia C
Recorded diameter
12 mm (from 2 recorded specimens)
Recorded mean weight
1.48 g (mean of 2 recorded specimens)

Technical characteristics

Mint
Kardia
Region
Thrace
Authority type
City

Design

Obverse type
Forepart of a lion, left, breaking spear in jaws; all within linear square.
Reverse type
Ethnic within grain ear wreath.
Reverse legend
ΚΑΡ

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/484
Type corpus identifier
CN type 484

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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