Cimmerian Bosporos. Pantikapaion. Circa 310–304/3 BC. Æ

Cimmerian Bosporos. Pantikapaion. Circa 310–304/3 BC. Æ (orichalcum) (21 mm, 7.29 g, 12 h).

Obv. Bearded head of satyr right, with coarse hair and pointed ear.

Rev. Π–A–N. Forepart of griffin left; below, sturgeon swimming left.

Refs. HGC 7, 113; MacDonald 69; SNG BM Black Sea 869–871; SNG Stancomb 541–542.

Struck in the flourishing late Classical phase of Pantikapaion (modern Kerch), this bronze combines three emblematic images of the Bosporan kingdom: the satyr—Dionysiac and rustic, nodding to the city’s wine trade; the agile griffin, long associated with the Black Sea’s mythic north; and the sturgeon, a proud allusion to the fish and caviar wealth of the Cimmerian Bosporos. The robust style and sharp civic monogram ΠΑΝ are characteristic of the series that followed Pantikapaion’s famous gold staters, carrying the city’s iconography into more utilitarian bronze for local circulation.

Condition: Even brown patina with clear types and legends; an attractive, well-balanced example of this classic Bosporan bronze.