Tachev, Yanislav : The Golden Staters of the Western Pontic Cities Mesambria, Odessos, Callatis, Tomis and Istros — The Golden Staters of Pantikapaion (4th century BC)

The present work is dedicated to the most valuable and representative numismatic monuments, a dream and pride for every museum and collector – the gold staters of the ancient Greek colony of Pantikapaion (now the city of Kerch), issued in the 4th century BC and the autonomous gold staters of the West Pontic cities issued in the Early Hellenistic Period.

The book consists of two parts. The first part covers the golden staters of the Western Pontic cities: Mesambria, Odessa, Callatis, Tomis and Istros. The second part is dedicated to the most expensive gold staters in the numismatic world, those of the Greek colony Pantikapaion, issued in the 4th century BC. The presence of gold coinage in these cities is indisputable evidence of their importance and prosperity during the Late Classical and Early Hellenistic Periods. Each of the two parts is presented with a separate catalogue. All staters known and available to the author from museums and private collections, from auction catalogues and internet pages have been published. In the proposed catalogues, the examined coins are systematized by chronology, the numbers of the obverse and reverse stamps, their full metric parameters, the position of the stamps in relation to the coin core, the current location of each specimen and the publication in which the respective mint was first mentioned are identified and indicated. All specimens included in the catalogues are illustrated with color photographs in real size. Where possible, the last known price at which the specimen was sold is also indicated.