Aspendos Staters - 1 Obverse Die, Ten Different Reverse Dies

Why would they have used this obverse die so long? Here's my theory: each year a new magistrate was elected (assuming the letters are a magistrate's initials) and a few dies were prepared with his initials. In the case of AF, I have only found two obverse dies. Die steel must have been expensive, so the number of dies created each year was small. Since the reverse did not change each year, a large number of these dies were kept on hand. Each day an obverse die was mated with a reverse die, and at the end of the day the dies were returned to a central location. The next day, the obverse die was picked up and a reverse die was selected, it may be the same die as before or it may not be, this was just left to chance since it really didn't matter. In the case of this obverse die, perhaps it was getting close to the end of this magistrate's term, so they didn't feel it was cost effective to engrave another die, so they just kept using it, even thought it was horribly broken.

A full die study of the coinage of Aspendos would test my theory (something I'm not about to start). If each magistrate had only a few obverse dies, and reverse dies are shared between different magistrates, then perhaps I am correct. Over the years I have noticed that the reverses of Aspendos staters are almost never broken, while the obverses in many cases show signs of heavy use, some even worse than this die. If a large number of reverses were available, broken dies could have been discarded without effecting production.

"Aspendus claimed to be an Argive foundation (Strabo, Geogr. XIV, C667f.). The city's name is attested on its early coinage in the form ESTFEDIIYS and is, perhaps, to be associated with the name Asitawandas found on the Karatepe inscriptions (Asitawandas, recorded as the founder of Karatepe, is described as a descendent of Mopsus). After c. 300 BC, however, the legend took the regular Greek form, ASPENDIWN. 

"Aspendus was noted for its trade in sea-salt (Pliny, NH XXXI, 73). It was also used in Roman times as a port from which grain was exported from the Anatolian plateau. Philiostratus (vita Apoll. I, 15) tells an anecdote about Apollonius of Tyana in which he forced the rich merchants of Aspendus to open their granaries during a time of famine.  Its importance as a seaport is highlighted by the Roman bridge, the piers of which are still visible, constructed with a high arch (some 9 metres above the water level) in order to allow large transport ships up the river to the city's commercial docks.

"Its long history as a major entrepot between the Mediterranean coast and the Anatolian plateau is also illustrated by a number of hoards found in central and southern Turkey.  They reveal that in the 4th century BC the silver coinage of Aspendus circulated widely.  The coins were struck on the so-called Persian standard, so that the stater was equivalent to two sigloi and had an average standard weight of 10.92g.

"The staters of the wrestler type in particular have attracted considerable attention amongst numismatists, and various attempts have been made to classify the issues according to the changes in the representations, magistrates' symbols, number of dies and countermarks.  This research has resulted in the identification of 4-5 main groups, distinguished by the different stances and holds of the wrestlers on the obverse.  The earliest group depicts one wrestler holding the other by the leg, while the legend on the reverse is found in the abbreviated form: ESTFE or EST.  On the second group the wrestlers are in a close embrace and their front legs cross over each other, while on the reverse the most important distinction between this and later groups is that the slinger's left leg is thrust forward and is slightly bent at the knee.  In the third group the wrestlers appear in a variety of positions, and on the reverse a number of different legends and symbols can also be distinguished.  Examples of this group are represented in the present catalogue by the Ürkütlü Hoard (nos. 670-680).  The fourth group, to which the Varsak-Düden Hoard (nos. 1-206) belongs, is characterised by the appearance of letters between the wrestlers on the obverse.  These are taken to identify the magistrates who supervised the minting of the coinage on behalf of the city.  The final group displays a gradual decline in the depiction of the wrestlers, while the square dotted border on the reverse is replaced by a circular one.  Another distinguishing feature of this group is the unfailing presence of another symbol below the triskeles on the reverse.

The Varsak-Düden Hoard

"This hoard of silver staters was discovered in 1971 but only acquired by the museum in 1982.  It is recorded as comprising 196 coins, but there are now 206 coins on display.  All of the coins belong to the same sub-group, which can be identified with von Aulock's Group III, dated 370-330 BC, or with Tekin's Series D, attributed to 380-325 BC.  The average weight has been calculated as 10.62g., although one example (no. 58) weighs the full 10.92g.  For most of the coins the die axis is 12h, but a number have an axis of 6h.  It has been calculated that the hoard contains as many as 50 obverse and 145 reverse dies.

"The hoard is remarkable because it contains a larger number of varieties of Group D than any other known hoard.  For example, the Ciftliközü (Derbent) Hoard, which is more than double the size, contains only 18 different obverse symbols.  The present hoard has 21 different sets of letters, and of these three types (FN, PO, and TN) can each be further divided into two separate sub-groups.  In addition, there is a sizeable group of coins that have no letters identifying the magistrates.  Brixhe listed 39 different combinations of letters or symbols, but this is not exhaustive, and one can now add five more sets of letters (DP, EI, KF, ML, and TN), giving a total of 44 different magistrates' marks.  The diversity within Group D can be taken as an indication of not only the size of output but also the length of time during which it was minted, especially if each symbol represents a team of office of one year for each magistrate.

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