Prokonnesos, an island on the top of the region Mysia in Asia Minor. It was situated in the eastern part of the Propontis, between Priapos and Kyzikos. It was also the name of the capital of this island colonized by Milesians or Samians and the country of the poet Aristeas. In 493 B.C. it was burned by a Phoenician fleet in the service of Darius. In 410 the Athenian vessels commanded by Alcibiades subjected it, like Kyzikos, to the domination of Athens. Later it was conquered by Kyzikos. Prokonnesos was renowned for its quarry of white marble, used in constructing the adjoining towns, particularly that of Kyzikos, and the tomb of Mausoleus at Halikarnassos, later of Constantinople during the Byzantine era. What makes the marble so special is that it is typically coarse-grained with blue veins. Finished carvings were exported throughout the Mediterranean in Late Antiquity and they established a super-regional style that was imitated by various local workshops. Marble with deep blue veins from Prokonnesos used in the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. Now to the coins of Prokonnesos. The first emissions of Prokonnesos consist of silver fractions with the forepart of a horse on the obverse and an oinochoe within an incuse square on the reverse. CNG E-Auction 352. Lot 128. ISLANDS off MYSIA, Prokonnesos. Circa 450-425 BC. AR Hemiobol (10mm, 0.50 g, 12h). Forepart of horse right, A on shoulder; grape bunch to right / Oinochoe; Π to right. Thompson, Coinage, pl. 1, 1; SNG France 2431 = SNG Delepierre 2544. VF, toned, some roughness. Very rare. This coinage has obvious parallels with the early boar's forepart/lion's head issues of Kyzikos (which were also issued in 450 BC). Both coinages are on the Persic standard, but Kyzikos used a variety of denominations while Prokonnesos seems to have issued only hemiobols. At a somewhat later date another series of Persic fractions appears at Prokonnesos, now with the types of female head and oinochoe. These are hemidrachms of consistent weight. CNG E-Auction 286. Lot 76. ISLANDS off MYSIA, Prokonnesos. Circa 411-387 BC. AR Hemidrachm (13mm, 2.44 g, 7h). Head of Aphrodite left, hair in sphendone / Oinochoë within incuse circle. Thompson, Coinage pl. I, 3; SNG von Aulock 1437; Dewing 2215; Jameson 1447. VF, lightly toned, minor obverse die rust. Good metal. The next series at Prokonnesos, including tetradrachms, drachms and bronzes is fundamentally different from the preceding emissions. The obverse heads are oriented to the right instead of the left and are crowned with laurel. Names and symbols appear on some obverses and reverses with diverse reverse types replace the uniform representation of an oinochoe. The weight standard of the silver is now also Rhodian instead of Persic. Two reverse types are used for the silver, a stag and a stag's forepart, but the distinction is not one of denomination or even of period, for both full and half representations occur on drachms with the same magistrate's name. The oinochoe, which had formerly been connected with the silver coinage, is now the reverse type for the bronze coins. However, now that the oinochoe is not used as a type on the silver coins, it invariably appears as a symbol. The new addition: Islands off Mysia, Prokonnesos. AR Diobol. Circa 3rd century B.C. Obverse: Head of Aphrodite to right. Reverse: ΠPO/KON. Forepart of stag to right, turning head backwards; to left, oinochoe. Reference: SNG Copenhagen 555. SNG Paris 2421. Thompson, Coinage, Series IV. 1.20g; 11mm The head which appears at Prokonnesos with various types of headdress is sometimes identified as Aphrodite and sometimes as Cybele. However, the fourth-century bronzes of neighboring Placia, where the cult of Cybele was also strong, the Phrygian goddess is clearly identified by a turreted crown. In the absence of any definite attribute of Cybele on the coins of Prokonnesos, an identification with Aphrodite seems preferable. Please share your coins of Prokonnesos, any Greek island, Kyzikos, stags and Aphrodite (and anything else you feel relevant).
Very nice write-up! I have never heard of that place. I wonder what it looks like today, if there are any surviving ancient ruins and if the marble reserves have been depleted after being mined for so many centuries. Well, I do have something from a Greek island (one that I was hoping to visit this summer and was a click away from booking hotels and flights a few months ago)
Very nice coin, I yet have to get a nice didrachm from Rhodos. As far as I know the marble is still being mined on the Island. Thank you both!
