TAURIC CHERSONESOS. Chersonesos. Circa 110-90 BC. Drachm (Subaeratus, 19 mm, 3.58 g, 1 h), Diotimos, magistrate. Turreted head of Artemis to right, bow and quiver behind neck. Rev. XEP / ΔIOTIMOY Stag standing left. Anokhin, Khersonesa 181. Frolova & Abramzon -. SNG Stancomb -. Extremely rare and very probably the finest late Chersonesos drachm known. A fresh, sharp and perfectly struck coin of wonderful late Hellenistic style. Very minor breaks in plating near the edge, otherwise, good extremely fine.


A deliberate emission of subaerati by a polis such as we see it with the late Chersonesos drachms is very unusual and it is most regrettable that we have no information on the background of the issue. Since the considerable number of differing magistrates signing the coins pretty much excludes the possibility of a short-term emergency issue, such as the famous plated Peloponnesian War tetradrachms from Athens, we can only speculate whether Chersonesos was facing economical problems or a lack of silver supply at the time. Sadly, the excellent late Hellenistic artistry on the dies is almost always concealed by the unattractiveness of the poorly produced flans and weak strikes. This piece, however, is a remarkable exception to the rule, as it is not only very sharply struck, but also perfectly preserved.