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Greek Coins :
Archive : Aeolian Silver Tetradrachm of Kyme
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Aeolian Silver Tetradrachm of Kyme - C.0400
Origin: Minted in Kyme, Found in Jerusalem
Circa: 165
BC
Collection: Numismatics
Style: Aeolian
Medium: Silver
Additional Information: SOLD (HERT)
Location: United States
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| Description |
Obverse: Bust of Amazon Kyme Facing Right,
Hair Bound in Ribbon
Reverse: Horse Prancing to the Right, One
Handled Amphora at Feet, Inscription,
“KYMAION” to Right and “OLYMPIOS” Below, All
Encircled in a Wreath
According to the writer Strabo, Kyme was the
largest and noblest of the cities in Aeolis, a
region of Asia Minor. The legendary founder of
the city was the Amazon Kyme, whose portrait
begins to appear on their coinage after about
250 B.C. The people of Kyme were almost
exclusively agricultural and the horse may
symbolize their rural nature or perhaps was
related to the god Poseidon. The amphora might
relate to the cult of Apollo. The horse and
amphora in combination may also be symbolic of
the games. The inscription, “OLYMPIOS,” on the
reverse refers to the name of the magistrate
Olympios, under whose authority this coin was
issued. The other Greek inscription, “KYMAION,”
means “of” or “belonging to the people of Kyme.”
Kyme was under the domination, successively of
Persia, the Seleucids, the Attalids, and finally
Rome. Ultimately, the city was devastated by an
earthquake in A.D. 17.
How many hands have touched a coin in your
pocket or your purse? What eras and lands have
the coin traversed on its journey into our
possession? As we reach into our pockets to pull
out some change, we rarely hesitate to think of
who touched the coin before us, or where the
coin will venture to after us. More than money,
coins are a symbol of the state that struck them,
of a specific time and place, whether currency in
the age we live or an artifact of a long forgotten
empire. This ancient coin is more than an
artifact; it is a memorial to the glories of an
ancient city passed from the hands of civilization
to civilization, from generation to generation.
- (C.0400)
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