Ancient Stars
Pan - Panticapaeum
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Coin Details
| Origin/Country: |
ANCIENT - GREEK CIVIC (7th CENT BC - 1st CENT AD) BOSPORUS,PANTICAPAEUM 4th Century BC |
| Item Description: |
AE21 Bosporus,panticapaeum rv griffin forepart; fish obv Pan or Silenus(?) |
| Full Grade: |
NGC Ch XF Strike: 4/5 Surface: 4/5 |
| Owner: |
PAL Collection |
Owner Comments:
NGC rated "FINE STYLE". The NGC slab notes the obverse as Pan or Silenus(?), but Harlan Berk's book states it is a satyr as identied by its ass's ears and button nose (Pan has horns & a goat face). Satyrs appear on coins of this region to honor King Satyrus I, who was responsible for the growth and prosperity of the Bosporan kingdom. The Bosporan Kingdom, or Cimmerian Bosporus, was named after the strait connecting the northern coastal Black Sea to the smaller Sea of Azov. The capital, Panticapaeum, was founded on the western side (modern-day Kerch, Crimea) by Milesians sometime in 7th or 6th century BC. It was a prosperous trading port with goods ranging from fish and wheat to slaves. The coin's design is very similar to gold stater included in H.Berk's 100 Greatest Ancient Coin list.