#kolchis

Extremely Rare Ancient Greek Gold Stater from Kolchis, 1st Century BC - 2nd Century AD

Obverse: Stylized beardless head to right, wearing what is apparently an Attic helmet with a high crest and ornaments; on the top of the crest at front, four birds. Reverse: Crude figure seated to left, holding a small figure on its right arm and a transverse spear in its left; to left and right, vertical line of oblong pellets; below, trident to left. Extremely rare, an extraordinary and very unusual piece. Well centered and well struck. Good extremely fine. This was sold at auction recently for $ 38,779 USD.

This piece is an extraordinary example of a particularly bizarre coinage, one that in the past has been identified as coming from a variety of different places. Early scholars in western Europe assumed it was possibly Balkan or from the area of the Black Sea: that last suggestion was the closest to being right. We now know that these pieces seem to have come from the area of modern Georgia. Up to now they have fallen into two basic types: imitations of staters of Alexander the Great bearing a very rude Athena head and an eagle-like Nike, or imitations of Lysimachos staters with a degraded head of Alexander the Great and a very schematic seated Athena. This piece clearly bears a helmeted head on the obverse, which is probably meant to be Athena but wearing an attic helmet rather than the expected Corinthian one. The reverse is basically copied from late Lysimachos staters minted in Byzantion in the earlier 1st century BC.

An incredibly rare coin from the land of the Golden Fleece

This didrachm from Kolchis (Colchis), Black Sea region, c. late 5th - early 4th century BC, shows the head of Artemis Dali facing to the right, her hair flowing down her neck. On the reverse, two female heads facing inwards towards each other, each within an incuse square. Fantastic archaic style, incredibly rare and historically important.

Ancient Colchis was located on the eastern coast of the Black Sea at the foot of the Caucasus mountains. In mythology, it was the destination of Jason and the Argonauts' quest to retrieve the Golden Fleece.  Aeëtes, the king of Colchis, promised to let Jason have the fleece if he could first perform three tasks.

While he was carrying out his tasks, Aphrodite had caused Medea, the daughter of king Aeëtes, to fall in love with Jason, and she helped him to succeed in his quest. The first task was to plow a field with fire-breathing oxen, in which Medea aided Jason by providing him with ointment to protect him from the flames. The second task was to sow the teeth of a dragon that sprouted into an army of warriors which Jason had to overcome. Again Medea helped him by advising him to throw a rock into the crowd of warriors that caused them to attack each other rather than Jason. His last task was to defeat the sleepless dragon which guarded the golden fleece, and Medea caused the dragon to sleep while Jason retrieved the fleece.

After his tasks were completed, Jason and Medea then fled to Corinth, where they lived together until Jason became engaged to Kreusa, the daughter of Kreon. Medea was so angered by this betrayal that she took her revenge by killing the two sons she bore to Jason, as well as his new bride.