Caulonia (Bruttium)

Description

The Archaic and Classical coins produced by the Greek colonies in southern Italy and Sicily are a high-water mark of ancient coin design. The obverse of this coin from Caulonia on the south coast of Italy is braided round the edge and shows the city’s god Apollo striding to the right with a branch in his raised right hand. The tiny figure prancing along his extended left arm has so far defied interpretation. Standing beside him with its head turned back is a stag, an emblem of the city of Caulonia. The reverse is an incuse of the obverse, as is typical of coins struck in Magna Graecia from the mid-6th century until well into the 5th century B.C.