circa 300-250 BCE
Æ 20 mm, 2,79 g
Laureate head of Apollo to right /
Owl standing to right, head facing; AΓΑΘO to right
Corpus Nummorum Online 18379; SNG Stancomb 18; SNG Copenhagen 855
Agathopolis is located at the modern day Bulgarian city of Ahtopol. It is believed to have been founded by Anaximander of Miletos, and thus is one of the many colonies of that city. Interestingly, the ancient walls of the city remained standing and nearly impregnable until the era of gunpowder. They were destroyed by the Ottomans in 1453.
Today, we don’t know much about the ancient city and we’re not even absolutely certain it was located at Ahtopol. There’s also some uncertainty about whether all coins that contain ‘AG’ are from the same city, because there are multiple distinct types. It’s possible these coins came from different cities.
The city takes its name from ‘Agatha’ – which means wealth, and ‘polis’, which means city. So, it was a wealthy city, or at least they tried to be positive about that.
Relevant Resources
430 BCE
Agathopolis first colonized by Greek settlers.
Thrace is annexed by the Roman Empire, bringing Agathopolis, Aigiospotamoi, Kabyle, Deultum, and Perinthos under its rule.