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Stater
| Issuer | Gortyna |
|---|---|
| Year | 330 BC - 270 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Silver Stater (3) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A powerful bull stands in high relief, its body oriented to the right in a striding stance with head turned back (reverted) to face the viewer, conveying a sense of arrested motion. The musculature of the animal is rendered with naturalistic precision, the tail curving along the flank. The design is set within a plain circular border of closely spaced dots, consistent with Gortynian coinage of the late Classical period. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Gortyna, Crete |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Gortyna was one of Crete's dominant poleis during this period, controlling the fertile Mesara plain and maintaining enough political autonomy to strike an independent silver coinage even as Macedonian power reshaped the broader Greek world. The city's mint output was never prolific — surviving examples across all major collections run to only a few hundred specimens — making any stater a relatively scarce piece by Greek civic coinage standards.
The Dewing reference places this among a tightly grouped die study. Cross-referencing SNG Copenhagen 443 with BMC 29 suggests a mid-series emission, likely third century rather than the earlier end of the range.