مرکز منطقه ای اطلاع رساني علوم و فناوري - Coins with a ⊝ Legend whose Minting Place is Uncertain

Abstract :

Because of their legends two series of coins with the heads of Zeus Ammon and Athena on the obverse and a star motif and the depiction of a torch within a wreath on the reverse have been attributed to the town of Thymbra, which is famous for its Temple of Apollon and is thought to be situated in the Troad region. The main reason for this information is that two coins bearing the head of Zeus Ammon and a star were purchased in Troad in 1825 by H. P. Borrell during his journey to Çanakkale and the fact that stars similar to the one on the reverse are seen on Kolonai coins. But both L. Robert and J. M. Cooknoticed that these coins did not circulated within the frontiers of Troad. Three coins carrying the head of Ammon and a star, unearthed during the Pergamon excavations and the similarity to the depiction of the star on the reverse of the Gambreion coins make us consider that these coins might have been struck not in Thymbra but in a town whose name we do not know in South Mysia or Aeolis. After the evaluation of archaeological excavations and surface surveys conducted in the Troad region, during which no such coins have been discovered to date, from the information provided by ancient sources and coin iconography, we may assume that the issuing city was probably located in south Mysia or in Aeolis.