THE COIN COLLECTOR - World eBook Library

THE COLLECTOR SERIES
types. To the Roman period (Augustus to Salonina)
we have to assign a coin in the inferior metal of parti-
cular interest, as the obverse contains a copy of the
statue of Apollo Didumaeus by Canachus. The gold
staters are rare.
Phoc.ea began, from its position on the Mediterranean
as a maritime port, to avail itself of the earliest oppor-
tunity of possessing a coinage, which is referable to
the seventh century B.C., and commences with electrum
staters and their divisions, followed or accompanied by
silver money of similar patterns, and succeeded by elec-
trum hectce ;
besides which there are staters of electrum
struck at Mytilene and elsewhere in alliance with
Phoctea, of the earlier or original class. More than
one writer refers to staters of Phocaea as concurrent
with the smaller pieces, but no examples of contem-
porary origin are known. The Phoca?an bronze is
common, and extends over a lengthened period. The
money of Phygela seems to refer to the cult of Arte-
mis Munychia, and that of Priene to that of Poseidon
and xVthena. The hippocamp held by the former on
coins is common to the statue of the god mentioned
by Eratosthenes, and presumably then at Priene. Of
Smyrna we have nothing, owing to political circum-
stances, prior to the rebuilding of the city, when tetra-
drachms appeared with the turreted head of Kybele,
who occurs as an obverse type on the unique gold stater
in the French national collection. The autonomous
and Roman imperial bronze is abundant, and presents
numerous interesting inscriptions and types, including