Digital museum showcasing the collection of worldwide legends over the years! 千古不朽博物館展示多年來收藏的世界傳奇故事!
Ancient Greek Byzantium
Drachm
古希臘 拜占庭
打蘭
Item number: A205
Year: 340-320 BC
Material: Silver
Size: 16.3 x 16.3 x 3.2 mm
Weight: 5.1 g
Provenance: Coincraft 2016
This is a drachm silver coin minted in the 4th century BC in the Greek city-state colony of Byzantium. The drachm was a weight unit in the ancient Greek world, later adopted as the denomination for silver coins. Legend has it that Byzantium was founded by the Megarian king Byzas in the 6th century BC, following a divine prophecy. This small settlement, situated near the Bosporus Strait, would later evolve into the historically significant cities of Constantinople and Istanbul, exerting profound influence on human history.
The obverse of the coin features a bull facing left, with its right foreleg stepping forward, accompanied by a dolphin below. Bulls and dolphins were common motifs on ancient Greek coins, symbolising strength, prosperity, and their association with the sea god Poseidon. Above the bull’s back, the ancient Greek legend “ΥΠΥ” is engraved, with the first two letters combined into a ligature, serving as the monogram for the colony of Byzantium. On the reverse side of the coin is a windmill-shaped quadrilateral divided into four triangular sections, with granules visible within the concave areas, representing another characteristic of Byzantium.