A bronze issue of Pantikapaion dated to 305–250 BC represents the coinage of the capital of the Bosporan Kingdom in the early Hellenistic period.
Pantikapaion, founded by Milesian colonists and developed into the principal political center on the Cimmerian Bosporus, is well attested in ancient sources, including Strabo, as well as in the archaeological record. In the 3rd century BC, the city maintained an extensive minting activity in gold, silver, and bronze, reflected in the numerous documented coin types known from this period.
The obverse shows the head of Pan facing left, a so-called “speaking type” (type parlante) alluding to the first element of the city’s name (ΠΑΝ). This image is among the most characteristic features of Pantikapaion’s iconography and appears consistently in issues of the late 4th and early 3rd centuries BC. The reverse depicts a bow and arrow with the legend ΠΑΝ below, serving as an abbreviated ethnic of the polis. The combination of these symbols is well documented in numismatic scholarship on Bosporan coinage and represents a firmly established compositional scheme for the city’s bronze issues.
Greece
Cimmerian Bosporos, Pantikapaion, AE, 305-250 BC
Obverse: head of Pan to left
Reverse: bow and arrow, ΠAN below
Diameter 15 mm, weight 2.50 g
