Item number: A1653

Year: 400-300 BC

Material: Silver

Size: 17.5 x 17.2 x 1.9 mm

Weight: 4.3 g

Provenance: Coincraft 2017

This is a drachm silver coin minted between the 5th and 4th centuries BC by the Greek polis of Miletus in its colony Istrus, located at the mouth of the Danube River in present-day Romania.

The obverse of the coin features a pair of inverted, symmetrical male heads, a distinctive characteristic of Istros coinage. Scholars believe these heads represent Castor and Pollux, the twin brothers from Greek mythology.

According to the myth, Pollux was the immortal son of Zeus, while Castor, born of a mortal Spartan king, was mortal. When Castor was killed in conflict, the grieving Pollux pleaded with Zeus to restore his brother’s life. Moved by Pollux’s selfless devotion, Zeus granted his request—but at a cost. The twins would have to share their existence, alternating between the underworld and Olympus. Ultimately, Zeus honoured them by placing them among the stars as the constellation Gemini.

The reverse of the coin depicts an eagle standing on the back of a dolphin, poised to strike with its beak. This imagery is believed to symbolise domination over the sea, possibly reflecting the maritime influence of Istros, the ancient Greek colony.

At the top of the reverse side, the city’s name “ΙΣΤΡΙΗ” (Istrus) is inscribed in ancient Greek script, identifying the issuing authority. Below, at the bottom edge, a single letter “A” is present.

物件編號: A1653

年代: 公元前 400-300 年

材質: 銀

尺寸: 17.5 x 17.2 x 1.9 mm

重量: 4.3 g

來源: 錢幣工藝 2017

這是公元前5至4世紀之際，古希臘城邦之一的米利都人在今日羅馬尼亞境內多瑙河出海口建立的殖民地伊斯特拉，發行鑄造的「打蘭」銀幣。

錢幣正面是一對相互倒立對稱的男子頭像，這是伊斯特拉錢幣的一大特色。學者認為這一組頭像是希臘神話中，波路克斯和卡斯托這一對同母異父的孿生兄弟。哥哥波路克斯的生父是宙斯，弟弟卡斯托的生父則是凡人斯巴達國王。卡斯托在一次衝突中不小心遭到殺害，傷心欲絕的波路克斯請求宙斯復活弟弟，但需要的代價是波路克斯自己剩餘的壽命。波路克斯毫不猶豫答應犧牲自己的壽命換取弟弟復活的精神感動了宙斯，因此宙斯將兩人安置在星空成為了雙子座。

錢幣背面是一隻站在海豚背上的老鷹，準備以牠的嘴喙攻擊海豚的形象。錢幣上緣是以古希臘文標示的地名「ΙΣΤΡΙΗ」(伊斯特拉)，下緣則有一個字母「A」。