The Crustacean on Apollonia Pontica’s Coins

The image of the crustacean is one of the first symbols to appear on Apollonia Pontica’s silver coins along with the main parasemon – the anchor. In Apollonia, the image of a crustacean appears on its coins in the period between the 5th and 3rd c. BC. The symbol of the crustacean is not very clear and has different explanations – some scholars interpret it as a freshwater crayfish, others as a lobster. The aim of this article is to present another hypothesis. The origin of the image of the crustacean could be associated with Upogebia, a decapod genus of mud shrimp, most probably of the Upogebia pusilla (or litoralis) species or the so-called ghost shrimp (Callianassa tyrrhena / C. candida / C. pontica / C. pestae). Both species are quite common in the Black Sea coast, as well as in the Mediterranean and the European coasts of the Atlantic Ocean. Nowadays they can be found throughout the Burgas Gulf, as well as in the waters of Sozopol, including Gradina Bay, where its population is quite dense. These shrimps bear a remarkable resemblance to the crustacean engraved on the coins of Apollonia. How did the ancient mariners of Apollonia know about them and how did they use them? However, why would the city government choose the Upogebia or mud shrimp as the city’s parasmon? The current paper asks these and other questions and presents some hypotheses as possible answers.