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1⁄12 Stater - Pnytagoras
| Issuer | Salamis of Cyprus |
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| Year | 351 BC - 332 BC |
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| Composition | Gold |
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| Obverse description | Draped bust of Aphrodite facing left, wearing a turreted (mural) crown with multiple battlements rendered in fine relief. The facial features are rendered in the refined Cypriot-Greek style characteristic of late 4th century BC Salaminian coinage. A single Cypriot-syllabic sign (pa-), representing the first syllable of the royal epithet pa-si-le-wo-se (meaning 'King'), appears in the right field. The flan is irregular and slightly convex, consistent with hammered gold coinage of the period. |
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| Obverse lettering | 𐠞 (Translation: King) |
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| Additional information |
Pnytagoras was the last king of Salamis before the city-kingdom was absorbed into Ptolemaic Egypt, ruling through the turbulent decades when the Persian grip on Cyprus was loosening and Alexander's campaigns were redrawing every political boundary in the eastern Mediterranean. He notably switched allegiance from Persia to Alexander during the siege of Tyre in 332 BC, a calculated move that preserved his reign — at least temporarily. These fractional gold pieces were likely struck to meet the precise payment demands of mercenary troops, where small denominations in bullion carried more trust than silver in uncertain times.