Pantikapaion Addition

[kirispupis]

Technically, Pantikapaion shouldn't really count for my collection since Alexander the Great never conquered it, nor did any of the Diadochi bother it AFAIK. However, the time frame is right and one could argue that they were close enough to the action to have been affected in some way. One factor in their decline during this same period was the growth of the Egyptian grain market, likely a result of Ptolemaic policies. However, to be honest the main reason was how cool looking they are.

Would anyone know the story behind all of these bronzes that are hitting the market? There certainly appears to be no shortage of them. For those unaware, Pantikapaion was in modern day Crimea very close to modern day Kerch, where there was a lot of news recently when Ukraine severely damaged a bridge.

I recently acquired the coin below. It's definitely a great one to bring out when we have guests. It does seem that recently a large number of very high quality specimens have hit every auction house, so I'm not sure if some massive hoard were pulled out, but that's what it seems.

Kimmerian Bosporos, Pantikapaion
Æ 7.23g, 20mm, 11h.
Circa 325-310 BCE
Head of bearded Satyr to right / Π-Α-Ν around forepart of griffin to left; sturgeon to left below
MacDonald 69; SNG BM Black Sea 869-71; SNG Stancomb 542; HGC 7, 113
Ex Roma

 

Feel free to show your own Pantikapaion coins or those of the region!

[robinjojo]

Very nice!  I particularly like the bold, centered strikes, toning and nice surfaces - a true winner!

I have noticed a number of these coins, mostly on Roma, so some hoard or collection (I think the former) is entering the market.

[DonnaML]

A beautiful, well-centered example. I am impressed!

Here are my two:

[Prieure de Sion]

Perisad I, Tetrachalcon Kingdom of the Bosporus 330/315 BC
Material: AE Bronze, Diameter: 21.5mm, Weight: 6.53g, Mint: Pantikapaion, Kingdom of the Bosporus, Reference: MacDonald 69, Obverse: You can see the bearded head of Pan to right, Reverse: Forepart of griffin to left, sturgeon fish to left below. The inscription reads П · А · N for PAN (Pantikapaion).

[kapphnwn]

Ae 23 pf Pantikapaion 340-325 BC Obv Head of Pan left Rv Bow and arrow. MacDonald 59 11.53 grms 23 mm photo by W. Hansen

The imagery on these coins are on the whole striking. One gets a real impression of the uncivilized nature of Pan with his wide staring eye and wild hair. 

[Valentinian]

I love coins of Panticipaion (which can be spelled other ways) because of their wild artistry. Look at all the beautiful coins above!

Here is my page about them:

http://augustuscoins.com/ed/Pan/Pan.html

On 11/2/2022 at 2:36 PM, kirispupis said:

It does seem that recently a large number of very high quality specimens have hit every auction house, so I'm not sure if some massive hoard were pulled out, but that's what it seems.

There was a hoard in 2016.


In Sept. 2016 I saved this photo of part of the hoard from a web site article, but, unfortunately, now I cannot find the original source. There may well have been another hoard since then. 

Take a look at that page for more images of coins and information about them:  http://augustuscoins.com/ed/Pan/Pan.html