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Orbis Collectibles

Bisanthe, Bisanthe: nominal B — Vine branch with bunches of grape on right and on left (CN type 653)

DocumentedSupported by at least one credible specialist source.

Record status

Individual type · research required

Period

c. 300–200 BC

Issuing entity

Thrace

Bisanthe: nominal B in bronze struck at Bisanthe in Thrace, dated c. 300–200 BC. Corpus Nummorum, the online type corpus of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, records it as CN type 653 (period: Hellenistic Period; issuing authority type: city).

Obverse: Head of Dionysus, right, quiver behind. Reverse: Vine branch with bunches of grape on right and on left. Legend: ΒΙ. Measured specimens give a mean weight of 1.91 g (mean of 3 recorded specimens) and a diameter of 12–15 mm (from 3 recorded specimens). Published references cited by the corpus: Schönert-Geiß, Die Münzprägung von Bisanthe, Dikaia, Selymbria, Berlin 1975, p. 10, nr. 37, pl. 2; 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. 68, nr. 1365.

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

Bisanthe was a city in ancient Thrace, situated on the coast of the Propontis, originally founded by the Samians. Around 400 BCE, the settlement belonged to the kingdom of the Thracian prince Seuthes II, and in later eras it became known as Raedestum or Rhaedestus near modern Tekirdağ. This bronze issue represents the autonomous Hellenistic civic coinage minted by Bisanthe between roughly 300 and 200 BC.

Physical characteristics

Material
bronze
Denomination
Bisanthe: nominal B
Recorded diameter
12–15 mm (from 3 recorded specimens)
Recorded mean weight
1.91 g (mean of 3 recorded specimens)

Technical characteristics

Mint
Bisanthe
Region
Thrace
Authority type
City

Design

Obverse type
Head of Dionysus, right, quiver behind.
Reverse type
Vine branch with bunches of grape on right and on left.
Reverse legend
ΒΙ

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/653
Type corpus identifier
CN type 653

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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