Item number: A203

Year: 561-493 BC

Material: Silver

Size: 13.1 x 12.1 x 2.4 mm

Weight: 2.13 g

Provenance: Coincraft 2016

This is a hemidrachm silver coin minted in the Greek colony of “Agora,” located in Thracian Cherronesos, present-day Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey. It features on its obverse a half-length lion running to the right, with its head turned back and mouth open. Numismatists thus refer to it as the “Cherronesos Lion,” combining the aforementioned characteristics with the ancient Greek term “Cherronesos,” meaning peninsula.

The reverse of the coin is a quadripartite incuse square, delineated by diagonal lines into convex and concave surfaces, with inscriptions and symbols engraved on the concave side. On the left concave surface, there is a pellet, and below it, the Greek inscription “ΑΓ” in monogram, serving as an abbreviation for the toponym. On the right concave surface, there is a symbol of a cicada. The imagery on the right concave surface is remarkably diverse, with collectors having catalogued over 99 different designs, encompassing various subjects such as animals, plants, objects, celestial bodies, and geometric patterns, among others.

Agora traces its origins back to around 561 BC when Miltiades the Elder, an Athenian, established the colony after conquering the Thracian tribe of the Dolonci. Following the death of the childless Miltiades the Elder, the colony was taken over by his nephew, Miltiades the Younger, who assumed its governance. However, faced with the advancing Persian forces under the leadership of Darius I, in 493 BC, Miltiades the Younger made the decision to abandon the colony. Subsequently, in 490 BC, Miltiades the Younger led the Greek coalition to victory against the Persians in the Battle of Marathon. Miltiades the Younger’s son, Cimon, later played a significant role in advancing the Athenian-led Delian League.

物件編號: A203

年代: 公元前 561-493 年

材質: 銀

尺寸: 13.1 x 12.1 x 2.4 mm

重量: 2.13 g

來源: 錢幣工藝 2016

這是位於色雷斯切爾索尼塞，即今日的土耳其加里波利半島，名為「阿格拉」的希臘殖民地鑄造「半打蘭」面額銀幣。特色是正面為一隻向右奔馳，扭頭張口的半身獅子像。因此錢幣學家以上述特徵，結合半島的古希臘語「切爾索尼塞」，稱之為「切爾索尼塞之獅」。

硬幣背面是四等份的方形，以對角劃分為凸面和凹面，並於凹面處打印文字和符號。左側的凹面有一粒圓珠，下方的古希臘文「ΑΓ」花押字是地名縮寫。右側凹面則是一隻蟬的符號，右側凹面的圖像非常多元，目前已有收藏家整理出超過99種的圖案，其題材包含：動物、植物、器物、星體和幾何圖案等等。

阿格拉能追溯至公元前561年之際，雅典人老米太亞德征服色雷斯部落成立的殖民地。無嗣的老米太亞德去世後，由姪子小米太亞德接手經略。不過面對大流士一世領導的波斯步步進逼，公元前493年，小米太亞德決定放棄這片殖民地。後續在公元前490年，小米太亞德領導希臘聯軍在馬拉松戰役擊退波斯。小米太亞德的兒子客蒙，日後更進一步推動以雅典為首的「提洛同盟」。