Manipulating Late Hellenistic Coinage: Some Overstrikes and Countermarks on Bronze Age Coins of Pergamum

Abstract

Overstrikes and countermarks on late Hellenistic bronze coins from Pergamum provide new evidence for the chronology and organisation of the bronze coinage production in the Mysian polis. After the end of the Attalid dynasty three different authorities having their own treasury were involved in the minting process: the sanctuary of Asklepios Soter, the sanctuary of Athena Nikephoros and the city itself. All three were concerned with the manipulations of the bronze coinage, applying their own countermark (Asklepios Soter’s snake-staff, Athena Nikephoros’ owl, city monogram) or overstriking their own coin type on earlier coins. Overstriking the temple coins with city types would have relieved the city of the need to finance bronze emissions from the public treasury while countermarking implied probably the demonetisation of old coin types revalidated with the countermark. If a fee were required for countermarking it could have been intended to provide the issuing treasury or that of the countermarking authority with cash. The systematic countermarking and/or overstriking of bronze coins in Pergamum by an issuing authority that did not finance their production reveals the possibilities offered to the city and temples to use the bronze coinage to increase revenues to the treasuries of the city and the temples.