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Drachm
| Issuer | Idalion (Cyprus (ancient)) |
|---|---|
| Year | 450 BC - 449 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Drachm (1) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Sphinx seated to left in profile, depicted in archaic Cypriot style, with the right forepaw resting upon a lotus tendril bearing a flower and bud. The creature is rendered with careful attention to anatomical detail, combining the leonine body with a human-faced head. The field is plain, characteristic of early Cypriot silver coinage. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse script | Cypriot |
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| Additional information |
Idalion was one of the last Cypriot city-kingdoms to fall under Phoenician control, absorbed by Kition sometime around 450 BC after decades of resistance — making coins attributable to its final independent years among the most historically compressed issues in Cypriot numismatics. The city had earlier allied with Athens against Persian-backed Kition, a conflict documented in the famous Idalion Bronze Tablet, the oldest known legal contract in Greek.