PAMPHYLIA. Side. Circa 205-100 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 30 mm, 16.57 g, 12 h), De(m)..., magistrate. Head of Athena to right, wearing crested Corinthian helmet; on bowl, countermark: ΑΠΑ and bow in bowcase in round incuse. Rev. ΔΗ Nike advancing left, holding wreath in her right hand; to left, pomegranate. Seyrig, Side 9. SNG Paris 683. Area of weakness on the reverse from countermarking, otherwise, good fine.


In the 180s, we assist to an episode of countermarking on some Attic weight coins. Several cities using the cistophoric coinage started to apply countermarks on Alexanders and on coinages from four Pamphylians cities: Phaselis, Perge, Aspendos, and, most importantly, Side, whose coinage attests for roughly 80 % of all countermarked Pamphylian tetradrachms. The so-called ‘cistophoric’ countermarks were applied by no less than eleven cities, sharing a common design flanked with the abbreviated name of the the countermarking authority. In the case of this piece, the countermark was applied by the city of Apameia.