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Peparethus and Its Coinage / Warwick Wroth
Peparethus and Its Coinage / Warwick Wroth
Peparethus and Its Coinage / Warwick Wroth
[PLATE IV.]
Finally, in 1906, the British Museum acquired the coin P1. IV. 2 =
Fig. C. This coin bears the letters PE already seen on the bronze coins of
Peparethus, displays like them Dionysiac types, and was found in Scopelos.
Its attribution to Peparethus is, thus, hardly open to doubt, and the coin has
numismatic importance as showing that this island coined silver, as well as
bronze money, and that its coinage began somewhat early in the fifth century.
Unfortunately this inscribed coin cannot be held to prove that the grape-
coins previously referred to belong to Peparethus, for the bunch of grapes on
its obverse is not identical with the bunches on the other coins. It seems,.
however, to strengthen their attribution to this island, an attribution first
suggested by the provenance of some of the specimens. In this paper I shall
therefore venture to adopt as a probable hypothesis the Peparethian origin of
all the grape-coins, except, perhaps, in the case of the coin Pl. IV. 8.3
The island which chose the bunch of grapes as its principal badge,
though less famous than Naxos or Thera, was in legend declared to have been
colonized by Cretans under an appropriately named leader, Staphylos, the
son of Dionysos and Ariadne. Dionysos was its principal divinity, and
Staphylos is still the name of a bay of the island.4 It is first mentioned in
the Homeric Hymn to Apollo. In antiquity it was well wooded; it grew
corn and olives and exported a well-known wine.5 At the present day it
sends a light, red wine of its production to Constantinople and the Black
Sea ports. There were three towns in the island, namely, Peparethus, the
most important place, now called, like the whole island, Scopelos; Selinus,
and a harbour-town, Panormus.
Coming niow to the more precise attribution of our coins, it is probably
not rash to assume that the chief minting-place was the town Peparethus.
We may assign to it the inscribed coin with the seated Dionysos, No. V."
(PI. IV. 2) and the bronze coins, P1. IV. 9-11. One would suppose also that
the coin, P1. IV. 1, with a fine figure-subject (Fig. A) was likewise issued from
the same mint. But to what mint are we to assign the Herakles-head, the
helmet and the ivy-wreath, each of which has a bunch of grapes as its
obverse ? There seems some difficulty in assigning so many reverse-types to
the same town during a period (apparently) of about forty or fifty years; and
"
Peparethus is not the only provenance SOn Peparethus, see Bursian, Gcographie
recorded for these coins. They have been von' Griechenland, ii. pp. 386 f.; C. Fredrich,
found in Cos, in Macedonia (Salonica), and in 'Skiathos und Peparethos' in Mlittheil. arch.
Thessaly. Cos may safely be ruled out as the Inst. (Athens) xxxi. (1906) p. 99 f. and refer-
mint-place of these coins, for they in no way ences there; cp. Wace, ib. p. 129 f. 'Skiathos
amalgamate with the already well-known series und Skopelos'; Murray's Handbook for Grccce,
of Coan money. Some coast-town of Thessaly, pp. 931 f.
or, better, of Macedonia would have a fair 5 On the wine, Demosth. In Lacrit. p. 935;
claim to the coins, if the attribution to Soph. Philoct. 548 ; Heracl. Poit. Fragm. 13 ;
Peparethus is unacceptable. The helmet- Athen. i. p. 29 a and f; Pliny, H.N. xiv.
reverse is rather distinctively Macedonian 7. 76.
and the winged figure (Fig. A) has been 6 The Roman numerals refer to the descrip-
compared (by Mr. Hill, J.H.S. 1897, p. 79) tive list of the coins given at the end of this
with the winged figure with a wreath oni a artic!e.
Macedonian (?) coin.
92 WARWICK WROTH
,, III. (Helmet) ,, f, ,, c.
IV. (Ivy-wreatll) ,, P, ,, D.
,
This examination of the dies suggests that Nos. I. and II. A are nearly of
the same date. In the Herakles-series, II. D is later (but not much later)
than II. A. The helmet-type III. and the ivy-wreath type IV. are both
contemporary, or nearly contemporary, with the Herakles-type II. D.
No. V. (seated Dionysos) and No. VI. (dolphin-rider) do not share in
this interchange of dies.
No. I. (P1. IV. 1 = Fig. A). Mr. Hill has well suggested the name of
Agon-a male personification corresponding to Nike-for the reverse type.
This little running figure is executed with all the minuteness of gem-
The coin No. VI. (P1. IV. 8) as I have already remarked is probably
not of Peparethus. The four dolphins encircling the bunch of grapes were
presumably suggested by the coins of Sicily, on which they appear first, at
Syracuse, in the time of Gelon, i.e. circ. B.c. 485.16 The dolphin-rider on
the reverse is not satisfactorily preserved, but I am inclined to think that
it is a female figure wearing a long chiton like Europa on her bull on the
metope of Selinus or on the early coins of Cnossus: a male dolphin-rider is
already known from an early coin (sixth or seventh century ?) attributed by
Svoronos to the island of Syros.17 The date of our coin may be provisionally
fixed as circ. B.C. 480.
Between circ. B.c. 470 and 400 there is a broad gap in the coinage of
Peparethus. During this period the island was no doubt subordinate to
Athens.1s The bronze coin IX figured Pl. IV. 9 may be placed circ. B.c. 400.
It displays a bearded head of Dionysos of good style. No. X. (P1. IV. 10)
shows a beardless Dionysos, perhaps of the third century.
No native coinage can be assigned to the island during the fourth
century. In B.c. 377 the Peparethians are named among the allies of the
Athenian Confederacy. In B.C.361 the town of Peparethus was besieged by
Alexander tyrant of Pherae and it is interesting to know that two of his silver
coins have been discovered in Scopelos.9 The island was afterwardslaid waste
by command of Philip II. of Macedon because the Peparethians had seized
the island of Ilalonesus. At the end of the third century (B.C.209-200) the
town was contended for by Philip V. of Macedon, by Attalus of Pergamum,
and by the Romans. The coin (P1. IV. 11) doubtless belongs to the second
or first century B.C. The worship of Athena, whose head appears on it, is
known from other sources to have prevailed at the towns of Peparethus and
Selinu s.
In conclusion, I set forth the details that will be looked for by
numismatic readers, some of whom may be able to carry farther than I have
done the dating and attribution of this interesting but rather difficult series
of coins.
'6 A single dolphin was the badge of Ceos British Museum in M1arch 1906. A note of
and on the coins it accompanies the distinctive these was made by Mr. Hill, as follows:-
types of the various towns of the island. 1. Obv. Head of Hecate r. hair rolled; in front,
17 Journ. internat. dc'arch. num. 1900, p. 59; arm holding torch. Rev. AAEEANA Lion's
cp. Head, B. M. Cat. Cari, p. lix. head r.; below, double-axe, Size Wt.
"7.
s18See I.G. I. Index of Athenian Tributary 87-2 grains (similar to B. M..RCat. Thessaly,
Allies. P1. X. 12). 2. Obv. Wheel. Rev. A AE double-
19 Two coins (dans le comnmerce)shown at the axe. JR Size "4. Wt. 12'6 grains.
PEPARETHUS AND ITS COINAGE. 95
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3 'Cyrene'; Wroth, Num. Chron. 1892, p. 19; Hill, J.ILS. 1807, p. 79,
'Chalcidice' ?). Found in Cos together with Nos. II. B and III. B, an
archaic tetradrachm of Athens, and an archaic tetradrachm of Mende.
Obverse from same die as No. II. A and II. B and II. C.
II.-Herakles Type.
Obv. Bunch of grapes. Border of dots.
Rev. Head of bearded Herakles 1. in lion's skin. Square compartment of
dots. Whole in incuse square.
A. In SIR H. WEBER'S COLL., LONDON. At Size Wt. grains.
P1. IV. 3 and Fig. B. Procured from Greece. '95.
Obv. from 265'5
same die as
No. I.
The obv. of II. D and E next to be described differs from the obv.
of II. A, B, C, in having a small bunch of grapes on each side of the
large bunch.
D. In BRITISHMUSEUM,acquired in 1872 from Edward Wigan's collection.
AR Size 1. Wt. 256 grains. P1. IV. 5. (Head, Nurm.Chron.1891, p. 1,
No. iii. P1. I. 5.) Provenanceunknown.
Rev. from same die as II. A and II. B.
E. D)ans le commerce, 1906. A& Euboic tetradrachm. Found in Scopelos
(Peparethus).
Obv. and rev. from same dies as II. D.
III.-Helmet Type.
Obv. Bunch of grapes, flanked by two smaller bunches. Border of dots.
Rev. Crested Corinthian helmet r. within incuse square.
A. In A PRIVATE COLLECTION. AR tetradrachm. Wt.
16"75 grammes.
(Svoronos, 1.c.p. 339, No. 1, Pl. XI. 19.) PI. IV. 4. Found on the site
of Selinus in Pepacrethus,and obtained in the island by Mr. A. J. B.
Wace. (Information from Mr. Wace.)
Obv.from same die as No. II. D.
B. In BRITISH MUSEUM, acquired 1891. iR Size Wt.
1"05. 253"4.
(Head, Num. Chron, 1891, p. 2, No. iv. P1. I. 6; wt. stated as
in Cos with No. I. etc.
261"3 grains.) PI. IV. 6. Found
Obv. and rev. from same dies as No. III. A.
C. In A PRIVATE COLLECTION ? A tetradrachm. Wt.
16"50 grammes.
~Found,by a native of Thessaly, r-ph v•6'ov '70o 'OXvpr-ov. (Svoronos, I c.
p. 339, No. 2; P1. xi. 20.)
Obv.and rev. from same dies as No. III. A.
ID. Daas le commerce. At tetradrachm, shown at the British Museum in
1904. Obtainednear Salonica.
IV.--vy-wreath Type.
Obv. Bunch of grapes flanked by two smaller bunches. Border of dots.
(Flaw in die, on r.)
PEPARETHUS AND ITS COINAGE. 97
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VI.-Dolphin-rider Type.
3 4
7 8
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