Catalog
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| Issuer | Paros |
|---|---|
| Year | 520 BC - 500 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Drachm (1) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A quadripartite incuse square divided into four triangular sections by deeply impressed diagonal lines forming an X-pattern, creating the characteristic mill-sail or windmill incuse type. The incuse is deeply struck and irregular in outline, consistent with early archaic hammered coinage technique. The surface of the incuse sections shows the typical rough texture of the period, with no inscription or additional decorative elements. |
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| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | ND (520 BC - 500 BC) |
| Additional information |
Paros in the late sixth century was wealthy enough to sustain serious silver coinage largely because of its famous white marble quarries, which drew contractors and payments from across the Aegean. The island had no major silver deposits of its own; the metal almost certainly arrived as trade income rather than from local mining, making the production of a full drachm series a statement of commercial ambition rather than raw resource.
The Dewing and Lockett specimens — both now in institutional collections — represent the principal reference points for this type, as surviving examples remain genuinely scarce.