ILLYRIAN KINGDOM. Monounios (ca. 300-275 BC). AR stater (21mm, 10.50 gm, 9h). NGC XF 4/5 - 4/5. Dyrrhachium. Cow standing right, looking back at suckling calf standing left below; jawbone of boar right above / BACIΛEΩC-MONOYNIOY, double stellate pattern divided by line, all in double linear square boarder; Δ-YP above and below, all within linear circle border. Meadows, CH, 197. BMC 2. Extremely Rare. Monounios was the first king of Illyria to issue coins in his own name. He is sparsely mentioned in contemporary historical sources due to his brief involvement in the wars over the Macedonian succession, but the years of his reign and the extent of his kingdom is unknown. His very rare coinage includes staters of the cow / stellate type autonomously issued by the city of Dyrrhachium, suggesting that Monounios controlled this city, or employed its mint facilities under contract, for a time. Monounios's cow / stellate coinage includes types where is name is rendered in monogram form on the obverse, and those where is name is spelled out in full on the reverse, as seen here. Only a handful of these have survived, indicating a very limited issue.

HID09801242017

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