Numismatic Rarities of Ancient Chersonese: a Dichalkos from The Late-Third Century BC Featuring the Name of Matrodoros

Abstract

Numismatics of ancient Chersonese comprises a big number of silver and copper coin issues. The variety of scenes on the coinage from the period of autonomy resembles the list of known names of officials featured on the coins as those responsible for the city’s mintage. In some cases, the names of mint-makers are abbreviated, which makes the deciphering complicated. In this regard, let us call the attention to an issue of the dichalkoi of Chersonese from the second half of the third century BC featuring Herakles’ head right / bull butting left, with the official’s name “MATP,” always in shortened form. Recently there appeared a coin from the series in question with a more detailed version of the official’s name abbreviated as “МАТРОΔ,” which certainly supposed the name of “Matrodoros.” In the epigraphic inscriptions on ceramic ware from Chersonese, particularly among the local amphorae stamps, there is a name of astynomos Matrodoros son of Lysippos dated from the last third of the third century BC. From the coincidence of this name which rarely occurred in Chersonese with specific numismatic type and the chronology of the stamps there are reasons to infer that this case is related to works of the same official of Chersonese, an archon, who consequently held positions of astynomos and then mint-maker in the polis government. If it was the case, the low chronological frame of the stamps on Chersonesan amphorae showing the name of Matrodoros was close to the time when he became the mint-maker. Therefore, the chronology of the coins in question should be close to the last decade of the third century BC.