Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Drachm - Ariarathes I Sinope
| Issuer | Kings of Cappadokia |
|---|---|
| Year | 325 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| 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 | Round (irregular) |
| 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 |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Facing left, the head of the nymph Sinope rendered in fine archaic-influenced style, her hair confined within a sakkos; she is adorned with a triple-pendant earring and a pearl necklace, lending an elegant iconographic richness to the portrait. A grain ear appears upright in the left field, serving as a secondary symbol referencing the city's agricultural significance. The obverse carries an Aramaic inscription to the left of the head, associating this issue with the Achaemenid-influenced administration of Cappadokia under Ariarathes I. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | 𐡔𐡔𐡅 |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Ariarathes I ruled Cappadocia as a Persian-appointed satrap before declaring independence, and his coinage reflects that transitional moment — struck at Sinope, a mint with deep Greek monetary traditions, his issues borrowed the weight standard and artistic conventions of the Black Sea Greek world rather than Achaemenid bullion practice. He was eventually captured by Perdiccas following Alexander's death and crucified around 322 BC, making his entire reign's output compressed into a narrow window. SNG BN 283 places this squarely among the earliest identifiable Cappadocian royal issues.