Description:
This ancient coin was minted in Panticapaeum, a Greek city located on the present day eastern shore of Crimea, which the Greeks called Taurica. The city was founded by Milesians in the 7th century BC. At its greatest extent, the city occupied 250 acres which is still being excavated today. Panticapaeum began minting silver coins in the 5th century BC and gold and bronze coins in the 4th century BC. During the 5th–4th centuries BC, the city became the residence of the dynasties of Thracian kings of Bosporus. In 63 BC, the Greek King Mithridates VI took his life in Panticapaeum. He was the last great Hellenistic ruler, brought down only after repeated wars with the Roman Republic.
The obverse of this coin features Pan, who was the Greek companion of the nymphs, god of shepherds and flocks, of mountain wilds, hunting and rustic music. His name originates from the word paein, meaning "to pasture" and he has the hindquarters and horns of a goat. With his homeland in rustic Arcadia, he is recognized as the god of fields, groves, and wooded glens. Because of this, Pan is connected to fertility and the season of spring. The ancient Greeks also considered Pan to be the god of theatrical criticism. The reverse side of this coin shows a bow and arrow.
