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Drachm - Autokrates
| Issuer | Knidos |
|---|---|
| Year | 350 BC - 320 BC |
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| Orientation | Variable alignment ↺ |
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| Reverse description | Forepart of a roaring lion facing right, rendered with vigorous naturalism, the open jaws and mane conveying power and movement. The legend ΑΥΤΟΚΡΑΤΗΣ, naming the civic magistrate responsible for the issue, appears in the upper field above the lion's back, while the abbreviated ethnic KNI, identifying the city of Knidos, is placed in the lower field beneath the forepart. The design is typical of Knidian coinage of the late Classical period, with the lion serving as the city's principal reverse type. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Knidos occupied a strategically awkward position on the tip of the Carian peninsula, changing hands between Persian and Aegean spheres of influence repeatedly across the fourth century. The magistrate name Autokrates appearing on this issue places it within the city's later autonomous silver production, a period when Knidian coinage was being squeezed by the growing monetary dominance of Rhodes, its neighbor and commercial rival to the west. The city's mint output declined sharply after the foundation of the Rhodian federation in 408, making fourth-century Knidian silver considerably scarcer than earlier archaic issues.