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Bull standing to the left in the field, rendered in profile with careful attention to musculature and form characteristic of early Cypriot coinage. A small pellet or annulet appears above the animal's back. The surface displays the typical granular texture of early fifth-century BC Cypriot silver issues. No legend is present, consistent with the archaic period coinage of Paphos. The style reflects the strong Phoenician and Near Eastern artistic influences prevalent in the region during this period. |
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| Mô tả mặt sau |
Quadripartite incuse square deeply punched into the flan, divided into four rectangular compartments by raised ridges meeting at the center, a hallmark of early archaic Greek and Cypriot coinage technique. The incuse exhibits alternating raised and recessed quarters, producing a windmill or pinwheel pattern typical of the period. The punch marks are bold and irregular, reflecting hand-struck production. No inscription or additional device is present. The rough, striated surface of the flan surrounds the incuse square. |
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Paphos was one of the dominant minting authorities in archaic Cyprus, operating under the cultural and political pull of both the Achaemenid Persian empire — which controlled Cyprus from around 525 BC — and the deeply entrenched Phoenician trading networks that ran through the island. Coinage from this mint during this window reflects that tension directly: a local dynastic authority issuing its own silver while nominally subordinate to Persepolis.
Cypriot diobols of this period are rarely found outside hoards, and attribution to specific Paphian dynasts remains contested among specialists due to overlapping iconographic conventions shared across the island's city-kingdoms.