The numismatic chronicle and journal of the Royal Numismatic Society

QUAESTIONES CYKENAICAE. 263
half. At the end of the previous period, too, we have
noticed a coin of Barce (p. 172, above, and M. Suppl.
325 A), wt. 159-8 grs., which may be a double of the
same unit. What is the standard ? Mliller calls the
Barcaean piece a "Phoenician" or "Asiatic" tridrachm.
If, however, it were a tridrachm, it would, in spite of
the loss by oxydization, give a tetradrachm of 213 grs.,
which is too heavy, especially for the fourth century. 170
If, as has been suggested, we regard the pieces of
80-90 as the halves of this so-called " tridrachm ", the
difficulty of such a name becomes more apparent ;
the first place we should get a trihemidrachm, a very
awkward fraction in the second ; place, such a half
would postulate a whole of 160-180 grs., which would
place "Asiatic" (i.e. Samiaii) weight
in
out of the
question.
In the end of the fourth century and the early
years of the third there was in use in Crete a reduced
form of the Aeginetic standard which tallies well with
the weight of these coins. For example, at Cher-
sonnesos the didrachms of the period in the British
Museum range from 164-2-174 grs., at Cydonia from
137-5 through 143-2, 165-2, 172-5, to 182-7. At Polyrhenium,
for the period 330-280, the didrachms run
from 163-5-176, and the drachms from 69-6-87-2, while
one of the latter is over-struck upon a coin of Gyrene
f this very type. 171 As has been indicated above, the
connexion between Crete and Cyrenaica was very close.
Cretan mercenaries were always popular, and it was to
ro
Tetradrachms of 0EYEIAEY5 and IA5ONO
British Museum run from 195 to 203 grains.
171 B. M. C. } 10.
in the