A long, long time ago in a place not so far away, there lived a man named Zopyrion. He was a Macedonian under Alexander the Great, and had been placed in Thrace in order to guard against a potential Persian counterattack. Now, Thrace back then wasn't a happening place. Not only was it cold and snowy, but there were no bowling alleys and getting a clear signal was a major hassle. Life had become boring there, and Zopyrion was jealous of all the fun Alexander and his merry crew were having. So, he resolved to do some conquering too. Back then, the list of countries marauding armies could overrun were similar to those now. Since Thrace wasn't that far from Ukraine, Zopyrion chose that one - or more specifically the rich Greek colony of Olbia. Olbia was a weird place back then. Perhaps it was because they were in the sticks, but they minted some of the oddest coins. This dolphin is one of them, and began a tradition of me overpaying for coins from Olbia. They also minted huge gorgon coins I can't yet afford. Scythia, Olbia Cast dolphin AE 25 mm, 1.50g Ex Savoca Back to Zopyrion; he recruited an army of thirty-thousand men, then headed toward a now royally freaked Olbia. For the area, this was a massive force, and the Olbians had every right to be scared. They'd done absolutely nothing to annoy Zopyrion, but that didn't matter. He'd set out to obliterate the city. To improve their odds, the Olbians gave their slaves freedom, granted citizenship to foreigners, and called for help far and wide. They were in a major bind, and unlike at Tarentum, they couldn't even ride the dolphins. Since everyone else was busy with Alexander the Great, no help came, but they did receive a massive windfall in a storm that destroyed Zopyrion's fleet on the Black Sea (just saying...it could have been the dolphins). Despite the favorable Vegas odds and the hundreds of talents bet on them, Zopyrion and his crew failed to take Olbia. With their supply chain gone, they had no choice but to make the long retreat back to Thrace. Only they never arrived. The Scythians, Getae, and other tribes, who'd taken a beating by Philip II and Alexander III for the last several years, couldn't resist some Macedonian target practice. Little by little they picked Zopyrion and his army off until Zopyrion was annihilated. Alexander the Great, who later read about the events in the newspaper, was initially bummed, but then after reading on to learn that Agis of Sparta and Alexander I of Epiros had also perished in separate events, he was quite happy. Completely forgetting who Zopyrion was, he moved on to the comics. Meanwhile, in Olbia, there was much rejoice. This coin was minted just after the victory, a reminder of the perseverance of a city and country against stacked odds. Skythia, Olbia Æ 24mm 330-320 BCE 10.54g, 24mm, 9h. Horned and bearded head of river god Borysthenes to left / Axe and bow in gorytos, ΟΛΒΙΟ upwards to right, Δ to left. SNG Moskau 978-82; SNG Stancomb -; SNG BM Black Sea 457-9; HGC 3.2, 1887. Ex Roma Feel free to post your coins of Olbia or any other stunning upsets in history!
Thanks for the write up! I've heard the Scythians were able to fire their bows accurately from horseback at full gallop. I imagine they were able to make a pin cushion of slower-moving Zopyrion and friends without too much trouble. Here's my example showing one of their bows, along with some Olbian dolphin proto-money.
What a fun write up on a cool and mysterious place Scythia. Olbia circa 437-410 BC. Cast dolphin Æ, 21 mm, 1,20 g Dolphin left / OY on blank surface. Anokhin 180. SNG BM Black Sea 369. nearly very fine. Purchased from Savoca June 2021 Sarmatia, Olbia Cast Bronze Dolphin Proto-Coinage, c. 425-350 BC, 18 mm, 0,95 g 2021 Elkowicz SKYTHIA Olbia - Face Proto Money 437-410 BC Obv: facing gorgon's head. Rev: sea eagle flying right. 65.4 mm, 89.7 grams. Poor. Scarce. Provenance Property of a European collector; acquired in 2007; previously in a Dutch collection formed in the 1980s-1990s. Literature Sear 1682. Purchased from Timeline Auctions Feb 2021
A new purchase from Roma. Skythia, Olbia Cast Æ 35mm. Circa 437-410 BC. Arich-, magistrate. Gorgoneion with protruding tongue / A-P-I-X within four spokes of wheel. SNG Moskau 414-28; SNG BM Black Sea 387; HGC 3.2, 1884. 16.97g, 35mm, 10h. Good Very Fine. From the collection of GK.
Skythia, Olbia, AE21, ca. 310–280 BC. Obv: Bearded and horned head of the river god Borysthenes left. Rev: ΟΛBIO, axe-scepter and bow in case, monogram. 21mm, 10.43g. Ref: SNG BM Black Sea 451–517. These are often attributed to Parium, yet probably come from Olbia, too: "Mysia, Parium" (probably Skythia, Olbia), drachm, ca. 480 BC. Obv: Gorgoneion. Rev cross-shaped incusum. 12.2mm, 3.14g. Ref: BMC 4–8; Sear Greek 3917; SNG Copenhagen 256, SNG von Aulock 1318.
Not pretty, but here is an Olbia countermark: Thrace, Olbia Æ 18 (c. 160-150 B.C.) Laureate head of Apollo right / Lyre; OΛBO / B-A / [EI]-Rho-H monogram. SNG BM Black Sea 633-6; Frolova & Abramzon 1917-23; Anokhin 500 var. (rev. letters). Countermark: Helmeted head in 4 x 6 mm oval. (4.30 grams / 18 mm) eBay Oct. 2018 There's a terrific site on the coins of Olbia here: http://www.kwinto-coins.com/EuropeanCoins.html
I don't personally believe the monogram is the Olbia mintmark ("ΟΛΒ" or similar), but there are other arguments for the "Koson" coinage being struck in Olbia. (I'm agnostic on the several controversies.) RPC does now list both the AV Staters (both 1701A and B [no monogram]) and the AR Drachm (1701C) as being struck in Olbia, so I suppose that qualifies these! Both are photographed in their slabs, though I should probably crack them out:
Thrace, Sarmatia : Olbia. Imperial times. Æ (25mm, 7.28 gm, 5h). Obv: (ΟΛΒΙ)ΟΠΟΛΕI(ΤΩΝ), Laureate head of Apollo, right, Δ countermark in left field. Rev: Eagle standing on dolphin, ΠΑ to right. BMC__; SNG Cop__; Similar to Mclean, Vol II, 4310; Zograf 34, 13 (var). Extremely rare
Good write up - I have a Gorgon monster SKYTHIA. Olbia. Cast Ae (Circa 437-410 BC). Obv: Facing gorgoneion. Rev: A - P - I - X. Eagle flying right, with wings spread and dolphin right in talons. SNG BM Black Sea 383; Anokhin 168; HGC 3.2, 1881. Condition: Good very fine. Weight: 112.01 g. Diameter: 68 mm.
Thrace Sarmatia - Olbia 5th C BCE AE Cast Dolphin 27mm 1.75g Thrace - Olbius AE Dolphin money Thrace - Olbius AE Dolphin money round ver BONUS: Chinese Fish Money China Zhou Dynasty 1046-256 BCE AE Fish Money 67mm 9.5g AB Coole Enc Chinese Coins 6920ff EX: @Ken Dorney
Olbia. Circa 5th century BC. AR drachm, 16mm, 3.96g. Obv.: Gorgoneion. Rev.: Cruciform incuse square. Ref.: SNG Copenhagen 256. Ex. Jaz Numismatics Ex. Depew Collection
Upper portion of a large Greek amphora, recovered from the Black Sea, off the coast of the village of Koblevo (Kobleve) in southern Ukraine - Olbia in antiquity. 31.75 cm (w) x 20 cm (h) (12.5” x 7.87”)
