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Monetary circulation in Osijek and its surroundings before Roman conquest
Hermine Göricke-Lukić
; Muzej Slavonije Osijek
Sažetak
Undoubtedly, the Pannonians traded with the Greeks and the people from the Danube basin from the earliest times. The inhabitants of Pannonia traded with Italy long before the Roman reign, said Strabon - the merchandise from Italy came to Sisak by waterways and vice-versa from Pannonia to Italy. The river Neretva was of great traffic importance because its valley enabled deeper penetration into the Balkans and its integration with the Adriatic.
Mercantile connections of these areas with southern Pannonia were documented in written papers in many ways as well as in numerous archaeological finds.
The oldest authentic news that dealt with monetary circulation before the Roman conquest in the wider area of today's Osijek, dated back from the time of famous Franciscan Matija Petar Katancic (1750 - 1825). He was a witness of burrowed Mursa ruins and a research initiator of the Roman Mursa.
In general, a great deal has been written about Celtic coinage finds from the collection of the Osijek Museum, especially the ones struck according to tetradrachms of Phillip II and Alexander the Great of Macedon, therefore they have not been elaborated here with particular descriptions which would only mean a repetition.
The finds of Grecian-colonial coinage from Osijek (8 pieces, Dyrrhachii) won't be elaborated either since it was published by prof. Vjekoslav Celestin in 1903 (Celestin 1903: 9).
In the catalogue review only the unpublished coinage found in Osijek has been included and also the coinage that was on exhibitions but without an extensive expertise: the coinage of Metapont town, the coinage of Hieron II. the ruler of Syracuse, the drachms of Apollonia and Dyrrhachii; as well as the coinage of Scordisk struck by the moulds of Apollonia and Dyrrhachii drachms.
The coinage of Metapont town is the only noted find not only in Osijek but in the whole Pannonia. However, the finds of Metapont coinage in Liburnian area are known i.e. today's north Dalmatia and Croatian coastal region. There are a lot of original Metapont coinage in Liburnian area (Ljubac, Nin, Asseria, Krk). All coins were used as tags some of which, as in the grave from Nin or in the grave from Asseria, hung on the late early-La Tene culture fibulae.
An important fact that explains why the Liburnians made amulets exclusively from Metapont coinage, is an ear motif. It is known that exactly the ear in the Mediterranean and Indo-European religion was strongly linked with symbolics of Great Mother, a patriarch of all living creatures.
The frequency of finding coins - amulets in Liburnian area is significant for the understanding of historical circumstances ; how the coinage of Metapont could come to Osijek (Cat. no. 1). The coinage seems to have come from Liburnian region into east Pannonia where it was most probably struck. Namely the find from Osijek as the most Liburnian ones, was probably a coinage replica functioning as an amulet.
Mercantile links with the Liburnians confirm the discovery of another important find - the coinage of Hieron II, the ruler of Syracuse (275 - 215 BC) in the Osijek Citadel found during a well digging in 1863 (Cat. no. 2).
It is the only noted coinage find of Hieron II in south Pannonia. However, similar finds in Liburnian region i.e. today's north Dalmatia and Croatian coastal region are known, too.
In the catalogue review drachms of Apollonia and Dyrrhachii proceed, two large towns of south Illyrian coast that were means of payment all over the Balkan Peninsula up to the Carpathians (Cat. no. 3-8).
A large extension of Apollonia and Dyrrhachii drachms resulted in coinage forgery and later in its imitation.
Scordisk coinage from the Osijek Museum belongs to the group of fake drachms, mostly of low-quality silver, silver- or bronze-coated, a stylized image and title. The names that appear most frequently are Meniscos and Xenon which belong to the last mintage era of Dyrrhachii drachms i.e. the last quarter of the 1st century B.C. They can be found in Illyria but also in Moesia and Dacia where there were undoubtedly mints of rough fakes (Cat. no. 9-23).
In Osijek and its surroundings, besides fake drachms of Apollonia and Dyrrhachii, finds of Scordisk mintages have been noted that imitate the bronze coinage of the Illyrian ruler Balaios (167 - 135 B.C.) .
Ključne riječi
Hrčak ID:
163545
URI
Datum izdavanja:
6.12.2004.
Posjeta: 1.213 *