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!
Hemidrachm - Oborzos
| Issuer | Persis, Kingdom of |
|---|---|
| Year | 260 BC - 240 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
| 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 | 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 |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Bearded male head facing three-quarters to left, wearing a distinctive satrapal or royal headdress adorned with a crenellated tiara, rendered in the Achaemenid artistic tradition with strong Persian stylistic influence. The facial features are boldly modelled, with a prominent nose, defined cheekbones, and a short beard carefully delineated. An Aramaic inscription appears to the right of the portrait in the field. A dotted border runs along the upper edge of the flan. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A fire temple or tower facade depicted frontally, rendered as a stepped or battlemented structure with three arched niches separated by pilasters surmounted by flame-like finials, representing a Zoroastrian fire altar sanctuary typical of Persis coinage. To the left of the temple stands a robed male figure, possibly the frataraka or ruler, facing the structure in an attitude of worship or officiation. A small square symbol appears to the right of the temple in the field. An Aramaic inscription is visible in the lower exergue area. A dotted border frames the entire reverse design. |
| 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 |
Oborzos ruled Persis as one of the early dynasts following the fragmentation of the Achaemenid empire, operating in a semi-autonomous zone that the Seleucids never fully absorbed. The Persis dynasts struck in their own name and used their own iconographic vocabulary at a time when most of the Near East had capitulated to Hellenistic monetary conventions — a deliberate assertion of local identity backed by native silver from the Fars region.
Alram 528 places this issue within the earliest stratum of Persid coinage, making Oborzos one of the first dynasts to assert independent minting authority in the region after Alexander.