Neapolis, "new city" in Greek, was founded by settlers from Thassos, near the end of the 7th century BC. Their main source of economy came from precious metals, primarily mined from the Pangaion mountain. Nearly 1 century after its founding, Neapolis claimed independence from Thassos. In its independence, Neapolis began to strike it's own coinage that differed from the Thassian type (and in my opinion, a little less erotic.) Most depicting a forward facing Gorgon. Most known examples of which can still be seen in their natural surroundings at the Archaeological Museum of Kavala. Kavala is the current Northern Greek city that stands where Neapolis once did. *Thasos is the larger island directly south of Neapolis in the Aegean Neapolis, like many cities of antiquity, lost its name by siege and conquest. Allegedly, little remains of the Neapoli city, with very few structures intact and most with only a lingering foundation. It isn't recorded when or why the city's name was changed to Kavala; some historians assume it was named after a community of Jewish settlers that were relocated to the area by the Ottaman Empire from their Hungarian homes. Possibly a derivative of the name given to the area by the Jewish community. Named after Bucephalus, Alexander The Great's Horse. I feel I may have grown an irrational affinity toward forward facing Greek coinage. It may be the incredible amount of craftsmanship by the engravers to carve such a negative, or a subconscious feeling of the creature/person depicted having more character. Regardless, I have come to acquire more forward facing and 3/4 facing coins at an unbalanced rate. I specifically purchased this example because of the toning and the above average detail on the gorgoneion. The photo does not give the toning justice, as I had to focus a large amount angled light to avoid the glare. It's a long awaited addition and adds a little more substance to my collection than usual, due to the fact that I haven't made many purchases in the last 8 months.
Sure beats "heads or tails", this is "ugly vs beauty" portrait wise, lol. Nice coin, would love to own a type.
Thanks everyone. As usual, post em if you got em. I suppose all Neapoli coins will permit, regardless if it's the same Neapolis or not. Apparently it's a name that promised a new life to adventurers.
We currently have a thread with coins of the Neapolis in Italy so that might be a better place to post those coins. Mine is a fourree stater from a century earlier but the correct Neapolis in Macedon. Mine weighs 7.9g but solid ones tend to be closer to 10g.
