Item number: A1656

Year: 250-200 BC

Material: Silver

Size: 18.2 x 16.8 x 1.3 mm

Weight: 3.2 g

Provenance: Coincraft 2017

This is a drachm silver coin minted by the Greek colony of Epidamnos, located in the region known in antiquity as Illyria, which corresponds to present-day Albania.

The design of the coin largely follows the stylistic conventions of its mother city, Corcyra, located in the Ionian Sea. The obverse features a touching depiction of a nurturing cow and calf—the cow stands facing right while turning its head left to care for the kneeling calf suckling beneath her. Above the cow, the Greek inscription “ΞΕΝΩΝ” is inscribed, referring to the Greek deity Xenon, associated with the protection of travellers and hospitality. An eagle stands above the inscription.

The reverse of the coin features a geometric astral motif, enclosed within two rectangular frames arranged side by side. Surrounding the frames, inscriptions in Greek letters “ΔYP” and “ΒΑ” are present. The abbreviation “ΔYP” likely refers to Dyrrhachium, while “ΒΑ”—along with other partially worn or incomplete inscriptions—may indicate the name of a deity.

In the 7th century BC, Greek colonists from Corcyra (modern Corfu) established two significant settlements along the Adriatic coast of the Illyrian region: Epidamnos (later Dyrrhachium) and Apollonia. Around 360 BC, both cities began minting their own coinage, adopting the stylistic influences of their mother city, Corcyra. The primary distinction between their coinage lies in the reverse inscriptions, which bear abbreviations of their respective city names—”ΔYP” for Epidamnos/Dyrrhachium and “ΑΠ” for Apollonia.

物件編號: A1656

年代: 公元前 250-200 年

材質: 銀

尺寸: 18.2 x 16.8 x 1.3 mm

重量: 3.2 g

來源: 錢幣工藝 2017

這是坐落於古希臘稱之為伊利里亞，即今日阿爾巴尼亞境內的希臘殖民地「埃庇丹努斯」鑄造的打蘭銀幣。

錢幣的設計在基本上沿用殖民地的母城邦，即位於伊奧尼亞海的科孚島之造型風格。錢幣正面是一對舐犢情深的母牛和牛犢，母牛身體朝向右邊，向左回頭照顧胯下跪著喝奶的牛犢。母牛背上以古希臘文打印「 ΞΕΝΩΝ」，是古希臘神話中庇佑旅行者平安和象徵好客的神明，銘文上方則矗立著一隻老鷹。

錢幣背面是為兩道方框包圍，左右並肩排列的星宿幾何圖騰。方框的四周打印著銘文「ΔYP」和「ΒΑ」，「ΔYP」是埃庇丹努斯的縮寫，「ΒΑ」和另外兩側打印不完全或磨損的銘文可能是某位神明的名諱。

公元前7世紀，來自科孚島的希臘殖民者濱臨亞得里亞海的伊利里亞地區，建立兩個重要的殖民地「埃庇丹努斯」和「阿波羅尼亞」。這兩個殖民地大約在公元前360年之際，以母城邦的錢幣風格為參考在當地開始鑄幣。兩個城邦之間最大的差異是背面打印的地名，分別為埃庇丹努斯的「ΔYP」和阿波羅尼亞的「ΑΠ」縮寫。