From Artistic Dies
PAMPHYLIA, Aspendos. Circa 380/75-330/25 BC. AR Stater (22mm, 11.01 g, 11h). Two wrestlers grappling; LΦ between, below / Slinger in throwing stance right; EΣTFEΔIIYΣ to left, counterclockwise triskeles of legs to right. Tekin Series 4; Arslan & Lightfoot 61–72 (same dies); Izmir 413 (same dies); SNG von Aulock 4565; SNG France 105 (same obv. die); SNG Copenhagen 227. Superb EF, toned. Exceptional for issue. Struck from fresh and well executed dies.
Aspendos was a colony of Argos, and it flourished primarily through its trade in sea-salts. Historical evidence shows that Aspendos was used as a significant naval base for the Persian fleet in the 5th century BC, moreso than the other prominent Pamphylian city, Side. The importance of the port is attested by a bridge built by the Romans, partially still visible today, that had high enough arches to allow large vessels to pass below it to the city’s docks. The coinage of Aspendos began during Persian times, in the mid-5th century BC. As a mint, the city was quite prolific, attesting to the city’s economic success, and its coin issues lasted into Roman times. Its best known coinage, however, is the long series of silver staters that were struck from circa 420-300/250 BC. These staters feature two wrestlers grappling on the obverse, often with letters or symbols between them, while the reverse prominently displayed a slinger, in throwing stance, usually with a triskeles (long a civic emblem on Aspendos’ coins) and the city’s ethnic. The choice of wrestler type is uncertain. Wrestling was a popular sport in ancient times, and was one of the events in the Olympics. Perhaps Aspendos was well known for their wrestlers at the time, or was victorious at the Olympic event in the mid-5th century, but the prominence of this type, which endured on their coins for over a century, suggests it was of particular significance to the city. The slinger is thought to have been chosen due to the close similarity of the name Aspendos to the Greek word for a sling, σφενδονη (sphendone). The importance of this coinage in the region was such that the city of Selge in Pisidia issued a series of its own staters in the 4th century that clearly imitated Aspendos’ coinage.
