Obverse: Cow Standing to the Right, Suckling
Calf Under Kneeling to the Left, Eagle Above
Reverse: Double Doors with Floral Stellate Pattern
The ancient city known to the Romans as
Dyrrachium (present day Durres, Albania) was
actually founded as Epidamnos by Greek
colonists from Corinth and Corfu in 627 B.C. The
site was chosen no doubt for its natural rocky
harbor and high cliffs, making the city difficult to
attack either from land or sea. Although the city
was fought over by Corinth and Corfu, it was
seized by the Illyrians under King Glaukias in
312 B.C. Eventually, in 229 B.C., following a
major defeat at the hands of the Roman
Republic, the city came under domination by the
Romans who rechristened it Dyrrachium,
meaning “difficult ridge” in Greek, possibly
referring to the imposing cliffs near the city.
Under the Romans, the city became a major
naval and military base. The city also benefited
as one of the western termini of the Via Egnatia,
the road that connected the Adriatic ports with
Thessalonica and Byzantium in the east. During
the Roman
Republic, moneyers were in charge of minting
coinage. Controlling what legends were branded
on the coins, some moneyers used this position
to promote themselves and their political
ambitions, as did the one named on this coin,
Xenon.
How many hands have touched a coin in your
pocket or your purse? What eras and lands have
the coin traversed on its journey into our
possession? As we reach into our pockets to pull
out some change, we rarely hesitate to think of
who touched the coin before us, or where the
coin will venture to after us. More than money,
coins are a symbol of the state that struck them,
of a specific time and place, whether currency in
the age we live or an artifact of a long forgotten
empire. This ancient coin is more than an
artifact; it is a memorial to an ancient city passed
from the hands of civilization to civilization, from
generation to generation.
