Catalog
1⁄16 Shekel
| Issuer | Sidon (Phoenician cities) |
|---|---|
| Year | 410 BC - 400 BC |
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| Currency | Shekel (539-332 BCE) |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The crenelated walls and towers of the city of Sidon rendered in elevation, showing the characteristic battlemented architecture of a Phoenician coastal fortification. Below the city walls, a Phoenician war galley is depicted at anchor in the harbor, with oars extended. The composition fills the field and is executed in the compact, slightly incuse style typical of this fractional denomination, with no inscription or legend present. |
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| Mint | Sidon |
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| Additional information |
Sidon occupied a peculiar position among Phoenician cities in the late fifth century — nominally under Achaemenid Persian authority, yet granted enough autonomy to produce its own coinage in support of Persian naval operations. These fractional pieces were struck to facilitate small transactions in a port economy where precise subdivision of value mattered enormously. The series to which this piece belongs was likely minted under Straton I or one of his immediate predecessors.
Betlyon's classification of this type places it within a tightly dated horizon corresponding to increased Persian military activity in the eastern Mediterranean.