CIMMERIAN BOSPOROS. Pantikapaion. Circa 420-410 BC. Tetartemorion (Silver, 6 mm, 0.16 g, 6 h). Slim bird of prey with long tail feathers - a crow? - standing to right. Rev. Π-Α-Ν-Τ within the compartments of a quadripartite incuse square. Shonov, 2024, pl. V, 66, but unpublished in all the other major references: Anokhin -. HGC 7, -. MacDonald -. SNG BM Black Sea -. Extremely rare; the only example and hitherto unknown. Boldly struck. Good very fine. This coin provides a surprising addition to the iconography of Pantikapaion. But what exactly is the bird on the obverse and how is it related to Pantikapaion? The obvious attribution would be an Eagle, as that bird does appear on later issues struck in the 2nd and 1st century BC (MacDonald 118, 187). However, the bird's stance seems definitely wrong for an eagle. Based on a number of little known snippets from the Suda we would suggest that it is actually a crow; more specifically one from the western Chalkidike. This may seem extraordinary but it is recorded that the appearance of crows was welcomed by the people of Pantikapaion with cries of ἰδοὺ αἱ μέλαιναι τοῦ νότου κορῶναι πάλιν ἥκουσιν!!(FrGrAnObs CXV, 4b). This may be one of the reasons for the trade relations recorded between Pantikapaion and the Chalkidian city of Mende.