Item number: A1650

Year: 241-133 BC

Material: Silver

Size: 25.8 x 25.7 x 2.7 mm

Weight: 12.4 g

Provenance: Coincraft 2017

This is a Cistophorus silver coin minted between 241 and 133 BC by the Pergamene Kingdom, a Hellenistic state in Asia Minor. The term “Cistophorus” is used in numismatics to refer to the silver coinage issued by the Pergamene Kingdom, with an approximate weight of 12.5 grams.

The silver coins issued by successive rulers of Pergamon exhibited little variation in design. The obverse features a cista mystica—a sacred chest widely used in divination across ancient Mediterranean civilizations—adorned with ivory, floral, and fruit motifs. A small serpent emerges from the chest, positioned on the left side.

The specimen in this collection exhibits striation marks resulting from insufficient striking force during minting, which has affected the clarity and completeness of the imagery.

The reverse design of the coin is better preserved than the obverse, making it easy to identify the two serpents coiled around a bow and bowcase. To the right of the serpents is a wooden staff, associated with Asclepius, the god of medicine in Greek mythology. On the left side, two sets of Greek inscriptions, “ΛΡ” and “ΦΕ”, are present.

物件編號: A1650

年代: 公元前 241-133 年

材質: 銀

尺寸: 25.8 x 25.7 x 2.7 mm

重量: 12.4 g

來源: 錢幣工藝 2017

這是公元前241至133年之際，立國於小亞細亞的希臘化國家「帕加馬王國」所鑄造的基斯托福魯斯銀幣。「基斯托福魯斯」是錢幣學界對於帕加馬王國發行的銀幣稱呼，其重量約為12.5克。

帕加馬歷任統治者發行的銀幣在造型上沒有太多差異，正面是一個周圍以象牙和花果圍繞作為裝飾，中間有著一個廣泛在環地中海古文明用於占卜的「西塔」神秘盒，左側還有一條從盒子裡面爬出來的小蛇。本館收藏的藏品由於製造時的力道不足，周圍還有沖壓造成的線條痕跡，影響圖騰的清晰度和完整性。

錢幣背面的圖騰較正面來得清楚，可以輕易辨認出盤繞在弓與弓盒上方的兩條蛇。蛇的右側是希臘神話中的醫神阿斯克勒庇俄斯使用的木杖，左側則有兩組希臘文「ΛΡ」和「ΦΕ」標記。