KINGS OF PONTOS. Pharnakes I, before 196/5-circa 155 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 31 mm, 17.00 g, 11 h), Sinope. Diademed and bearded head of Pharnakes I to right. Rev. BAΣIΛEΩΣ - ΦAPNAKOY Pantheistic male deity standing facing, wearing flat hat topped with a thunderbolt, holding cornucopiae and kerykeion with his left hand and feeding fawn standing right with a vine branch held in his right; in inner left field, star-in-crescent (Pontic royal badge); in inner right field, monogram of ΠAΣ. De Callataÿ, First Royal Coinages of Pontos, -. Leu 16 (2024), 79. Leu Web Auction 30 (2024), 633. RG 4b. SNG BM Black Sea -. SNG Paris -. Extremely rare and with an excellent naturalistic portrait struck in high relief. Minor marks and a few faint scratches, otherwise, very fine.



King Pharnakes I of Pontos is known to us primarily through fragments of Polybios' historical works, which describe various embassies the ruler dispatched to the Roman Senate in response to complaints from the Rhodians in Rome regarding the king's conquest of the important port city of Sinope. The commencement of his reign was long dated to the 180s BC; however, the re-dating of an inscription of Pharnakes in Delos to 196/5 BC indicates that he must have ascended to power considerably earlier. Today, it is believed that his reign extended from before 196/5 to around 155 BC. In the roster of Pontic kings, his tenure would thus have been surpassed only by that of his grandson, Mithridates VI.

Like all Pontic kings preceding Eupator, Pharnakes I minted only a few coins, and his tetradrachms are among the rarest of the Hellenistic era. Notably, Pontic coins feature exceptional, naturalistically rendered portraits that markedly differ from the idealized depictions of contemporary Macedonian dynasties and are considered among the finest portrait representations on ancient coins. This particular piece is an especially impressive example; its outstanding preservation showcases the full die engraving artisanship of the undoubtedly Greek artist. Similar to the highly important tetradrachm of his son, Mithridates V, in this sale (see lot 80 below), Pharnakes' piece was likely also minted in his new capital, Sinope, where an important school of die engraving artistry appears to have been established.

In addition to its outstanding portraits, the coinage of Pharnakes I is particularly notable for its reverse motif, which features a bewilderingly syncretic male deity adorned with a multitude of attributes. The god wears a floppy hat topped by a thunderbolt, holds a cornucopiae and a kerykeion, and feeds a fawn with a vine branch. Various identifications have been proposed for this figure, including Aion, Ma, a Dionysian form of Hermes, Hermes-Mithras, Hermes-Mithras-Dionysos, Apollo-Mithras, or Men, but its true identity remains ultimately uncertain. What is clear, however, is that this is not a classical Greek deity but rather a local god who likely represents a fusion of different cultural influences into a new form of worship.