Circa 325 BCE
AR Drachm 5.53 gm, 17mm
Persic standard
Obv.: ‘m in Aramaic, head of the nymph Sinope to left, her hair bound in a sakkos, wearing triple-pendant earring and pearl necklace; to left, aphlaston.
Rev.: ‘ariyrth’ in Aramaic, sea-eagle with spread wings standing on a dolphin to left.
HGC 7, 434; SNG BM Black Sea 1459; SNG Stancomb 761
Sinope to me has perhaps one of the most interesting numismatic histories. While I did pick up the top coin on my list, a version of the typical city coinage but with Ariarathes’ name, there are still others I plan to pick up some day. This is due to the long history of its coinage along with the numerous personalities who minted there.
The city itself has been settled and resettled in more installments than there are Rocky movies. It was visited by Xenophon’s 10,000 for some time and features heavily in his Anabasis. It was also a key stop for Jason and the Argonauts on their way to what we believe was Colchis, with whom Sinope developed a strong trade.
When Alexander the Great waltzed through, he put Sinope on his ‘to do’ list and moved on. Although he died before he had the chance to send someone to take care of it, the diadochi Eumenes and Perdikkas later conquered the region and killed Ariarathes I. It later became part of the Roman Empire.
I hope to have more to say about Sinope in the future as I pick up some targeted coins.