Sign up for our newsletter
We will send you news and special offers.
Skip to product information
Lydia. Tralles. (Circa 166-67 BC) Silver cistophorus tetradrachm (28.1 mm, 11.98 g)
Obverse: A cista mystica (ritual basket) from which a serpent emerges; all within a wreath of ivy.
Reverse: Two intertwined serpents around a bow and its case (bowcase); a star above, the inscription ΤΡΑΛ (abbreviation of Tralleis) to the left; to the right, a radiant head of Helios looking to the right; below, a monogram.
References: Kleiner & Noe Series 39 var. (monogram); Kurth –; SNG Copenhagen –; SNG von Aulock 3257 var. (same).
Ceca: Tralleis, an important city of Lydia, Asia Minor (present-day Turkey).
Issuance period: Approximately 166-167 BC, under the administration of the Attalid kingdom, shortly before Asia Minor became a Roman province.
Type of coin: Cistophoric tetradrachm, of standard weight around 12 grams, characteristic of this type of Hellenistic coinage in Asia Minor after the fall of Seleucid and Rhodian influence.
Iconography:
The cista mystica surrounded by a wreath of ivy is a Dionysian symbol —related to the mysteries and cult of Dionysus— and is the motif that gives its name to this denomination (cistophorus).
On the reverse, the two serpents around the arch are distinctive to this type; the star and the radiant head of Helios provide solar and Apollonian attributes rare in other cities, but present in particular emissions of Tralleis.
The monogram below the scene identifies the monetary authority or the magistrate responsible for the minting in that specific year.
€110,00 EUR
Taxes included.
Shipping calculated at checkout.
