page_title: Sofia
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Sofia / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Serdi region 187-168 BC or later obverse: head of rivergod Strymon right reverse: wide trident ref: type: (A?)5B imitation of: SNG Copenhagen 1298-9 var. weight: 8,37g diameter 22-20mm This coin is overstrike of official Thessalonican coin: Thessalonica 187-31 BC obverse: head of Dionysos with ivy wreath right goat standing right ΘEΣΣA_ΛO / N_IK_HΣ (NE) /&#160;? other monograms Sear #1466; BMC Macedonia p. 110, 10 - 16 Imitations from Serdi region weren't used to fool Macedonian traders but as their own currency. This coin is one of overstrikes on official Macedonian coins which prooves this theory.
context_page_description: Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. The city is situated in the eponymous valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and has many mineral springs, such as the Sofia Central Mineral Baths. It has a humid continental climate. Being in the centre of the Balkans, it is midway between the Black Sea and the Adriatic Sea, and closest to the Aegean Sea.
  Sofia has been an area of human habitation since at least 7000 BC. The recorded history of city begins with the attestation of the conquest of Serdica by the Roman Republic in 29 BC from the Celtic tribe Serdi. During the decline of the Roman Empire, the city was raided by Huns, Visigoths, Avars and Slavs. In 809 Serdica was incorporated into the Bulgarian Empire by Khan Krum and became known as Sredets. In 1018, the Byzantines ended Bulgarian rule until 1194, when it was reincorporated by the reborn Bulgarian Empire. Sredets became a major administrative, economic, cultural and literary hub until its conquest by the Ottomans in 1382. From 1520 to 1836, Sofia was the regional capital of Rumelia Eyalet, the Ottoman Empire's key province in Europe.
caption: O: head of river-god Strymon R: trident
   This coin imitates Macedonian issue from 187–168 BC. It was struck by Serdi tribe as their own currency
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