Sarmatia, Olbia. 5th century BC. Bronze cast dolphin money.


weight - 2,6 gr. 

length - 33 mm. ( 1,29 inch.)


Olbia, a Milesian colony in what is now Ukraine, was settled in the late 7th century B.C. and endured for a millennium. At the convergence of two rivers, about 15 miles inland from the Northwest coast of the Black Sea, it was well located for trade. Olbia was a prosperous trading city and major grain supplier when it was visited by Herodotus in the 5th century B.C. By the end of the 3rd century, the town had declined and accepted the hegemony of King Skilurus of Scythia. It flourished under Mithridates Eupator, but was sacked by the Getae under Burebista, abruptly ending its economic prominence. Olbia was restored by Rome, but on a small scale, and incorporated into the province of Lower Moesia. After being burned at least twice during the Gothic Wars, the town was abandoned in the 4th century A.D.


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