THRACE, Chersonesos. Circa 386-338 BC. AR Hemidrachm (12mm, 2.33 g, 6h). Forepart of lion right, head left / Quadripartite incuse square with alternating raised and sunken quarters; in upper sunken quarter, pellet above X; bucranium in lower sunken quarter. McClean -; SNG Copenhagen -; BMC -. Good VF. Rare symbol.
Like many other Greek city-states, the city of Chersonesos was built on a site from which it could exploit the military or economic advantages of its location. Located on a peninsula extending from Europe into the Aegean on the west and the Dardanelles on the east, its name derives from the ancient Greek word for peninsula. Little is known about this city, apart from its coinage. Two cities grew up nearby. Of the one, Agora (Malagra?), little is known. The other, called Kallipolis, or “Beautiful City,” was made famous, first as the first foothold of the Ottoman advance into Europe, and later as Gallipoli, the site of the famous ANZAC invasion of 1916.
