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Orbis Collectibles

Bisanthe, Bisanthe: nominal C — Owl (CN type 727)

DocumentedSupported by at least one credible specialist source.

Record status

Individual type · research required

Period

c. 300–200 BC

Issuing entity

Thrace

Bisanthe: nominal C 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 727 (period: Hellenistic Period; issuing authority type: city).

Obverse: Head of Athena, right, wearing Corinthian helmet. Reverse: Owl. Legend: ΒΙΣΑΝ. Measured specimens give a mean weight of 1.52 g (mean of 11 recorded specimens) and a diameter of 10–13 mm (from 12 recorded specimens). Published references cited by the corpus: Schönert-Geiß, Die Münzprägung von Bisanthe, Dikaia, Selymbria, Berlin 1975, p. 11, nr. 46-51, 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. 69, nr. 1372.

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

This bronze coin was issued during the Hellenistic Period as a civic issue of Bisanthe. Founded by the Samians on the coast of the Propontis, Bisanthe was a city in Thrace that had belonged to the kingdom of the Thracian prince Seuthes II around 400 BCE. Thrace was a historical region in classical antiquity and Southeast Europe, bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Sea to the east.

Physical characteristics

Material
bronze
Denomination
Bisanthe: nominal C
Recorded diameter
10–13 mm (from 12 recorded specimens)
Recorded mean weight
1.52 g (mean of 11 recorded specimens)

Technical characteristics

Mint
Bisanthe
Region
Thrace
Authority type
City

Design

Obverse type
Head of Athena, right, wearing Corinthian helmet.
Reverse type
Owl.
Reverse legend
ΒΙΣΑΝ

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/727
Type corpus identifier
CN type 727

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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