Gordion (BC 300-189) Obol

ca 2nd-1st century BC. AR Obol (0.70g, 9mm, 7h). Jugate busts of Artemis and Apollo, both laureate, quiver over the shoulder of Artemis / Bow and quiver, ΓOΡΔI-ANΩN vertically across fields. Extremely Fine. Of the highest rarity.

The only other example of this excessively rare coinage, the only known issue of Gordion, was published in the Numismatic Chronicle in 1846 by H. P. Borrell. Not a single other specimen has come to light in the intervening 172 years. It must not be confused with Gordus, or Gordus-Julia, under which entry it is incorrectly listed by the Bibliothèque nationale, who hold the Borrell specimen. After the death of Alexander in 323 BC, Gordion was controlled by Antigonos, the Seleukids, Celts, Attalids and finally by the Romans from 189 BC. The timing of this coin's issue is uncertain, but we may presume that it was struck during a brief period of autonomy, perhaps under Roman suzerainty.