Ancient Pontos Amisos AE20 Bronze Coin – Medusa Gorgoneion / Nike – Mithradates VI Era

This isn’t some polished-up tourist trinket pretending to be ancient. This is a nasty little 2,000-year-old bronze from Amisos in Pontos, struck during the era of Mithradates VI Eupator, the king who spent his career making Rome’s life miserable.

The obverse features a facing Gorgoneion / Medusa head set within an aegis — the ancient world’s version of “look at me wrong and regret it.” The reverse shows Nike advancing right, with traces of the Greek city legend AMIΣOY still hanging on after two millennia of dirt, corrosion, war, trade, burial, and whatever else this thing survived before landing here.

This coin measures 20mm and weighs 7.82 grams. XRF surface analysis shows a high-tin bronze alloy: approximately 77% copper, 18% tin, and 2% lead, with minor trace elements. Translation: real ancient bronze, not some shiny modern fantasy-metal nonsense.

Condition is exactly what you’d expect from something that has outlived empires: dark patina, rough surfaces, honest wear, and a Medusa face that still stares back at you like it’s judging your life choices. The reverse is weaker, but Nike is still there doing her thing.

A killer little Black Sea bronze with actual ancient-world attitude.

Attribution: Pontos, Amisos

Period: Mithradates VI era, circa 120–63 BC
Type: AE20 bronze
Obverse: Medusa / Gorgoneion facing
Reverse: Nike advancing right, traces of AMIΣOY legend
Weight: 7.82g
Diameter: 20mm
Composition: High-tin leaded bronze by surface XRF
Condition: Fine to Very Fine details, rough dark patina