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Dioscourias, Colchis, c. 105 - 90 B.C.
| Kolchis (Colchis) was an ancient kingdom and region on the coast of the Black Sea, centered in present-day western Georgia. The original Middle Bronze Age inhabitants were probably the ancestors of the present Swan, Mingrelian and Laz people. It was described as a land rich with gold, iron, timber and honey that exported its resources mostly to Greece. In Greek mythology, Kolchis was the location of the Golden Fleece sought by Jason and the Argonauts. The myth may have originated from the ancient local practice of using moss to separate gold dust from river bed mud. The Greeks invaded Kolchis in the 6th to the 5th centuries B.C. colonized and in 302 B.C. It became part of the newly founded Kingdom of Iberia. Kolchis was later divided into several principalities, until their annexation around 101 B.C. by Mithridates VI of Pontus. After that it was involved in wars with the Roman Empire. In 66 B.C. they were defeated by Pompey and became part of the Roman Empire. Christianity began in the 1st century A.D. spread by Kolchis and in the 4th century it became the official religion. |  |
GB87157. Bronze AE 16, SNG BM Black Sea 1021, SNG Cop 102, SNG Stancomb 638, Lindgren II 5, SGCV 3629, HGC 7 205, aEF, dark patina, tight flan, Dioscourias (Sokhumi, Abkhazia, Georgia) mint, weight 4.108g, maximum diameter 16.2mm, die axis 0o, c. 105 - 90 B.C.; obverse two piloi (caps of the Dioscuri), surmounted by stars; reverse ΔIOΣ/KOY-PIA/ΔOΣ in three lines divided by thyrsos in center; SOLD
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