Catalog
1⁄16 Shekel
| Issuer | Sidon (Phoenician cities) |
|---|---|
| Year | 410 BC - 400 BC |
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| Value | 1⁄16 Shekel |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Standing figure of the Persian Great King in profile to the right, depicted in court dress and wearing the kidaris crown, with arms extended in the act of drawing a bow. The figure is rendered in a schematic Achaemenid style characteristic of Sidonian coinage of this period, occupying the central field of the small flan. No legend or inscription appears in the field. |
|---|---|
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| Mintage | ND (410 BC - 400 BC) |
| 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.