PAPHLAGONIA. Sinope. Circa 330-300 BC. Drachm (Silver, 19 mm, 5.02 g, 6 h), reduced standard, Agreo..., magistrate. Head of the nymph Sinope to left, her hair bound in a sakkos, wearing triple-pendant earring and pearl necklace.
Rev. [Σ]INΩ Sea-eagle with spread wings standing on a dolphin to left; to right above, ΑΓΡ[ΕΩ]. HGC 7, 399. SNG BM Black Sea 1481-2. SNG Stancomb 770. Beautifully toned and very well struck, a lovely example. Small die break on the obverse and a few faint scratches on the reverse
, otherwise, extremely fine.
Ex Sotheby's, 3 May 1984, 100.
Located at the northernmost point of Asia Minor, on a peninsula extending northward, Sinope was one of the earliest Greek colonies in the Black Sea region - possibly the very first, according to Strabo. Thanks to its central position along the east-west coastal trade route and its excellent harbors, the settlement thrived, founding numerous daughter colonies such as Amisos, Kerasos, and Trapezos. Coins from the late Classical and early Hellenistic periods depict the city’s namesake nymph, Sinope, on the obverse and an eagle perched on a dolphin’s back on the reverse. In later years, the city rose to prominence as the capital of the Kingdom of Pontus before ultimately being absorbed into the Roman Empire after the defeat of Mithradates VI.
