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Drachm
| Issuer | Dardanos (Troad) |
|---|---|
| Year | 550 BC - 500 BC |
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| Shape | Round (irregular) |
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| Obverse description | Rooster standing to the right in archaic style, rendered with bold relief characteristic of early Archaic Greek coinage. The bird's folded wing is depicted with incised feather lines, while the neck and head are raised in a proud posture. Three pellets arranged in a triangular pattern appear above and to the right of the cockerel in the field, serving as decorative or ethnic symbols. The flan is irregular and slightly squared, consistent with early Troadic mint production. No legend is present, as is typical of this early pre-inscription coinage. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Quadripartite incuse square of irregular outline, divided into four recessed triangular compartments by raised ridges meeting at the center, forming a windmill or pinwheel pattern typical of early Archaic Greek coinage. The incuse punch is boldly struck and deeply impressed into the flat reverse surface. The four sections show varying surface textures resulting from the hand-hammered technique. No legend or additional device is present. This style of reverse is characteristic of Troadic and broader Ionian coinage from the late sixth century BC. |
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| Additional information |
Dardanos was a minor coastal settlement in the Troad whose coinage is poorly attested and chronologically difficult to pin down — the 550–500 BC window reflects scholarly consensus rather than documentary evidence. The city sat near the narrowest crossing of the Hellespont, which gave it strategic relevance during the Persian campaigns into Europe under Darius and Xerxes, though whether that translated into any minting activity tied to those events remains speculative.
The SNG Copenhagen and BMC Troas references place this among a handful of recorded specimens; total known examples across both catalogs number in the single digits.