Major mint: Phanagoria; also an extensive royal coinage.

The Bosporus proper is the ford of the strait between the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea; the name means cattle ford. As an area it was of some importance for its trade; as a strategic outpost it was more important, since it long provided a buffer for the Romans against the horse-nomads of the Eurasian steppes.

The main trading-posts were Phanagoria and Panticapaeum; the latter, founded by colonists from Miletos, became from circa 480 BC the capital of the kingdom of Cimmerian Bosporus. This kingdom existed into the fourth century; the last king to issue coinage, Rhescuporis VII, dated his coins up to the 340s. The loss of this buffer-state made a significant difference to the Romans; some measure of its importance can be seen from the fact that the Bosporan kings issued gold coins, which were the ancient mark of sovereignty.

Pantikapaeum issued its own civic coins as well; dedicated to Pan, its bronzes feature that deity, who as patron of the sort of activities which accompanied excess wine consumption was singularly appropriate for a town whose main industries were wine-making and pottery production.