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Panticapaeum  Young Satyr & Lion, Two Counter Marks, ca.304-250 BC

Panticapaeum City Issue, originally struck ca. 310-4 B.C.

Æ 19mm/6.6gm

Obv/ Head of beardless satyr l., hair wreathed with ivy, counter-marked with star.

Rev/ Head of lion l.; sturgeon fish below; PAN. Hinged counter-marked with Bow in Case.

Con/ VF+ for the issue; green patina with sand fill.

Ref/ MacDonald #114b

Seller's Note/ Counter-marking coins at Panticapaeum was very common as a way to increase their value. At first, coins were simply CM's with a hinged die, but after time this grew so cumbersome that the celators simply recreated the original coin and engraved the counter-marks on both sides.

This coin is of the earlier type, counter marked with a hinged die. The easy way to tell the difference between the two CM types is that on the 'hinged die' types, the reverse lion image has been flattened by the strike. On 'engraved' CM'd coins, the CM's are perfectly centered.