Illustrated Specimen Details: Stater
Example Specimen: Stater, 322 AD — Bosporan Kingdom
Design & Symbolism: The coin represents a degraded stater of the Bosporan Kingdom. The reverse shows a Roman emperor and an eagle on a globe. The obverse depicts the portrait of the Bosporan ruler, Rhescuporis VI (314-341). The inscription ΘΙΧ indicates the year 619 according to the Bosporan calendar, which corresponds to 322 AD.
A trident, visible on the coin, serves as a likely mint mark. The inscription ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΡΗΣΚΟΥΠΟΡΙΔΟΣ refers to King Rhescuporis. Due to the economic decline of the era, this stater was struck in copper, representing a significant departure from the gold and silver staters of earlier periods.
Ruler: Rhescuporis VI (314-341)
Denomination: Stater (degraded copper issue)
Date: 322 AD (Year 619 of the Bosporan era)
Metal: Copper
Weight: 7.31 g | Diameter: 20 mm
Estimated value: 14$
DENOMINATION GUIDE — WHERE & WHEN (coins catalog: by names & emitents)
- ANCIENT WORLD (6th century BC — 4th century AD): a number of different issuers on the territory of ancient Eurasia
STATER as a coin name.
The stater was one of the first coins in human history, produced in the lands of ancient Lydia and Greece starting from the 6th century BC. Initially, staters served as a means of payment in the form of metal ingots before true coinage evolved.
At different times, staters were made of various materials: electrum (a natural alloy of gold and silver), gold, silver, and even copper. In the Bosporan Kingdom (3rd-4th centuries AD), so-called "degraded staters" were produced. These coins were characterized by a constant decrease in precious metal content until they were struck essentially in copper. These issues of the Rhescuporis dynasty are often noted for their lower artistic quality, reflecting the economic and political instability of the region at that time.
The name "stater" comes from the ancient Greek word for "rocker of scales", as it originally functioned as a unit of weight measurement (where 50 staters were roughly equivalent to 600 grams).
Historical Background and Monetary Role
The stater was one of the most important coin denominations of the ancient world. It did not have a universal fixed value; rather, its weight and relationship to other denominations depended on the monetary standard adopted by the issuing state. For example, a stater could correspond to 2 drachms (Aeginetic standard) or 4 drachms (tetradrachm) under different systems.
After the conquests of Alexander the Great, the stater circulated widely across the Hellenistic world. One of the final stages of this denomination occurred in the Bosporan Kingdom, a Greco-Scythian state in Crimea. During the 3rd-4th centuries AD, severe economic decline led to the production of copper-based degraded staters.
Numismatic Significance
The Bosporan staters are essential for collectors because they illustrate the monetary decline of the late ancient period. While early staters of Lydia or Macedon are regarded as masterpieces of classical engraving, the late Bosporan issues demonstrate how economic crises transformed prestigious gold and silver coins into low-value copper issues while retaining the traditional name.