Ancient Greek AR Triobol - Istros , Sterling & 18Kt Ring

Ancient Greek AR Triobol Coin Ring Circa 400 - 350 B.C. Obverse: Two young male heads facing, side by side, one upright, the other inverted. Reverse: Sea eagle left, grasping dolphin with talons. Mint: Istros; Region: Thrace; Ruler: Greek City States. Certificate of Authenticity. Top of ring measures 24mm wide, Bezel around coin averages 21mm diameter. ring size 11.5, can be altered.

This coin was minted in Northern Greece at Istros (also known as Histria) of Thrace, on the coastline of the Black Sea.  Istros was the first Greek settlement in present day Romania.  There was a large amount of silver coinage issued in the first half of the 4th Century BC, suggesting it was a place of commercial importance.

The faces on this coin have been variously interpreted as the Dioscuri*, representing many dualities such as the rising and setting sun, positive and negative, and tragedy and comedy. It may also signify a geographical significance of the Danube Delta where the two branches of the river Danube meet, and as the reverse shows, where the wind meets the sea. The polarities expressed on this coin seem to suggest a unified balance within nature’s extremes.

*Twin brothers, Castor and Pollux in Greek mythology, they had different fathers. Tyndareus, king of Sparta, was the father of Castor (hence a mortal), while Zeus was the father of Pollux (a demigod).  A feud with their cousins, Lynceus and Idas resulted in the mortal wounding of Castor at the hand of Idas. Pollux killed Lynceus, and was saved from death by a thunderbolt hurled at Idas by Zeus. Rather than be parted from his beloved brother, Pollux asked Zeus to grant half his immortality to Castor. Hence they lead alternating lives, one day as gods on Olympus and the next as dead mortals in Hades. In legend, Zeus created the constellation Gemini in their honor. Patrons of all seafarers, the Dioscuri were especially honored by the Greeks.