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Drachm
| Issuer | Paros |
|---|---|
| Year | 510 BC - 480 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 6.18 g |
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| Obverse description | A kneeling goat depicted in right profile, its body rendered in bold relief with naturalistic musculature, positioned above a dotted exergual line. The animal's head is turned slightly, with the distinctive horns and facial features carefully articulated by the die engraver. The composition fills the flan in the archaic Greek artistic style characteristic of the late 6th to early 5th century BC Cycladic coinage. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A deeply recessed quadripartite incuse square divided into four equal compartments by raised ridges meeting at the center, a hallmark technique of early archaic Greek coinage. The incuse is sharply struck and well-defined, with each quadrant exhibiting a flat, slightly sunken surface. This reverse type is typical of the early electrum and silver coinage traditions adopted by Aegean island mints during the archaic period. |
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| Additional information |
Paros occupied an unusual position in the Archaic Aegean economy — the island's famous white marble drove enough commercial activity to sustain an independent silver coinage at a period when many comparable Cycladic communities could not. The Parian drachm weight standard aligns closely with the Aeginetan system, reflecting the island's commercial orbit before Attic influence consolidated regional monetary practice.
The SNG Copenhagen 715 reference places this firmly within the earlier part of the series, prior to the Persian sack of 490 BC, when Datis's fleet stopped at Paros during the same campaign that ended at Marathon.