Obverse: Forepart of a Pegasus Surrounded by a
Grapevine
Reverse: Quadripartite Incuse Square
Mysia was an ancient district in northwest
Anatolia (modern Turkey) adjoining the Sea of
Marmara on the north and the Aegean Sea on the
west. A vague inland perimeter was bounded by
the districts of Lydia on the south and Phrygia
and Bithynia on the east. Mysia designated a
geographic rather than a political territory and
encompassed Aeolis, Troas, and the region
surrounding the great city-state Pergamum.
Homer mentioned the Mysians (for whom the
region was named) as primitive allies of the
Trojans, but historically there is no record of
their action as an independent nation. Mysia was
ruled successively by Lydia, Persia, and
Pergamum, after which it was incorporated into
the Roman province of Asia (129 B.C.).
How many hands have touched a coin in your
pocket or 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 might have touched the coin before us, or
where the coin will venture to after it leaves our
hands. More than money, coins are a symbol of
the state that struck them, of a specific time and
location, whether contemporary currencies or
artifacts of a long forgotten empire. This
stunning hand-struck coin reveals an expertise
of craftsmanship and intricate sculptural detail
that is often lacking in contemporary machine-
made currencies. This magnificent coin is a
memorial to the ancient glories of Lampsakos
and greater Mysia passed down from the hands
of civilization to civilization, from generation to
generation.
- (C.2073)
|
