2021-12-22 Wed

Apollonia Pontika was a colony of Miletos. The main types for the city's coinage were a gorgoneion - presumably as an apotropaic device to protect Apollonia from evil - and an anchor, emblematic of its importance as a port city. The Gorgoneion is usually shown as the obverse as I have it here, but in reality, the upside-down anchor is considered the obverse.

The 5th and 4th century BC coinage of Apollonia Pontika reflects that city’s origins: commercial wealth and maritime power. The gorgon was a popular apotropaic device, seen as warding off evil; thus a number of ancient Greek cities adopted it as a coin design. The anchor and the crayfish attest to the city’s reliance on maritime commerce for its economy, and the anchor depicted on these coins is actually one of the first anchors of modern design rendered in Greek art.

Image Courtesy: numis.org