Speaker
Description
For the past century scholars have been attributing the production of a huge issue of gorgoneion drachms with geometric reverse, circa 3.8g, to the mint at Parion in Mysia. Yet neither hoards nor single specimens have ever been found there.
A fresh look at these coins, including a new die study, reveals unusual methods of production. The iconography of this coinage will be compared with other archaic gorgons for clues as to the true origin. A comparison of the individual features suggests a style much closer to the coinage of Olbia than Western Asia Minor.
In the 19th century there was debate about the origin of this coinage. By the 20th century, Parion was unchallenged. Voices were cast aside in favour of the dubious Parion attribution. Did a Belgian nobleman in the Russian service get it right in 1822?
