Æ15

Siphnos, the Cycladic island famous for its once-immensely profitable silver and gold mines, had seen those deposits flood and fail by the classical period — ancient sources, including Herodotus, record the sanctuary at Delphi receiving a tithe from the island's mineral wealth before the mines were lost to the sea. By the late fourth century, the island was minting in bronze rather than the silver it had once exported freely, a practical reflection of diminished resources.

The BMC Greek and SNG Copenhagen specimens remain the primary reference points for attributing this type, with relatively few examples traceable to documented collections.