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1/2 Shekel - Ba'alshallim II Sidon
| Issuer | Sidon |
|---|---|
| Year | 400 BC - 384 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 16 mm |
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| Obverse description | A Phoenician war-galley with oars extended moves to the left, depicted before a coastal fortress featuring four projecting towers. In the exergue, two lions are positioned back to back in heraldic opposition. The entire composition is enclosed within a beaded (dotted) border, a characteristic feature of Sidonian silver coinage of the Persian period. |
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| Mint | Sidon |
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| Additional information |
Ba'alshallim II ruled Sidon as a Persian vassal in the decades following the consolidation of Achaemenid control over Phoenicia, and his coinage reflects that uncomfortable duality — a local dynast asserting civic identity within the rigid framework of Persian imperial administration. The Sidonians retained minting rights largely because their fleet was indispensable to Persian naval operations; these coins are, in a practical sense, a byproduct of Sidon's value as a maritime power rather than any granted autonomy.
The sixteen-year attribution window is conventional rather than precise. Die-study work, particularly Betlyon's sequencing, allows rough internal ordering, but absolute dates remain tied to the broader dynastic chronology of Sidonian kings reconstructed partly from Phoenician inscriptions.