The Final Series of Cast Coins and the Transition to Struck Coinage in Olbia

Abstract

The article examines the final stage of cast coin production in Olbia and the transition to struck coinage in the late 5th to the first half of the 4th century BC. Based on a comprehensive analysis of numismatic material and its correlation with archaeological data, the authors reconstruct the sequence of emissions of large cast denominations (A and B) and fractional denominations (C, D, E), including both cast and struck issues. Particular attention is paid to denomination C (dichalkon?), which plays a key role in understanding the technological transition from casting to striking. The study identifies 66 varieties of coins of this denomination and analyzes their control marks, iconography, and typology. Special significance is attributed to a coin hoard discovered in the Mykolaiv region around 2011, which contained nearly 2,000 coins and provides direct evidence for the simultaneous circulation of cast and struck coinage in Olbia. The composition of the hoard refutes the hypothesis of a return to casting after the introduction of struck coinage and instead demonstrates a gradual technological transition. The authors argue that the production of cast coins of large denominations continued alongside the emergence of struck fractional coinage, and that the complete transition to striking occurred no later than the mid-4th century BC.