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Message:: [QUOTE="scottishmoney, post: 2480237, member: 12789"]Chersonesos - Kherson <img src="http://i1252.photobucket.com/albums/hh578/scottishmoney/chersonesosbee_zps5rkrharp.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> Early in the millenium prior to the birth of Christ Greek settlers and traders settled in the region of the Crimean Peninsula in what is now southern Crimea. In approximately 700 BCE the city of Kherson was settled.  Within a couple of decades coinage began to be issued, in concert with many of the Greek city states which were in the nascent stages of coinage issues. This hemidrachm from Khersonesos was issued from ca 480-350 BCE.  The obverse of the coin has the forepart of a Lion facing to the rear.  The reverses of these coins have a variety of emblematic devices or even Greek characters.  I like this piece in particular because of my interest in Bee coins, curiously it is believed that settlers from Ephesos in Ionia may have settled in Khersonesos, which would tie in with the Bee so emblematic on the coinage of that particular city state.  These coins have also been found with rather attractive looking Geckos on the reverses, in addition to birds and assorted other fauna. <img src="http://i1252.photobucket.com/albums/hh578/scottishmoney/chersonesoswheat_zpsdmgvtmsl.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> Another example, this one has an obverse that was carelessly struck off of centre of the die.  The reverse is very deeply struck, with a dot and a sheaf of wheat.  It is known that grains were cultivated even during that time, and that wheat etc was exported to the rest of the known Greek world. [/QUOTE]

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