IONIA. Kolophon. Circa 310–294 BC. AR Drachm

IONIA. Kolophon. Circa 310–294 BC. AR Drachm (13 mm, 3.16 g, 11 h). Moiras, magistrate.

Obv. Laureate head of Apollo left, his features finely modelled in Hellenistic style.

Rev. MOI[PAΣ] – KOΛOΦΩ. Kithara with five strings.

Refs: CNG 111 (2019), 236; Kinns –; Milne, Kolophon –; SNG Copenhagen –.

This rare drachm belongs to the late Classical to early Hellenistic coinage of Kolophon, a city in Ionia renowned for its sanctuary of Apollo Klarios. Apollo appears on the obverse in idealised form, his laureate head left recalling the god’s role as both protector and patron of the city. The reverse type of a five-stringed kithara is equally significant, for Kolophon was celebrated in antiquity for its musicians and poets, and the instrument underscores the city’s cultural reputation as well as its Apollonian associations.

The issue bears the name of the magistrate Moiras, otherwise unknown, whose responsibility for coinage reflects the civic autonomy Kolophon briefly enjoyed during the unsettled decades following Alexander the Great’s death. The date range, circa 310–294 BC, places the coinage within the struggles of the Diadochi for control of Asia Minor, when cities like Kolophon oscillated between Macedonian overlords yet continued to express their identity through local issues.

Coins of this series are seldom encountered and remain imperfectly catalogued, with the type absent from the standard references such as Kinns’ and Milne’s corpora. The piece cited in CNG 111, lot 236, confirms the rarity of the issue and its significance for the civic history of Kolophon.

Condition: Boldly struck for the issue with clear magistrate’s name and an elegant rendering of Apollo. Attractive old cabinet tone.