Cilicia in the fourth century BC was a patchwork of semi-autonomous cities and dynasts operating under loose Achaemenid suzerainty, which is precisely why attribution of small silver fractions from the region remains contested. Without a controlling ethnic or magistrate's name, pieces like this circulate through the literature reassigned from one candidate city to another — Soloi, Mallos, and Tarsos have all absorbed attributions that were later revised.
At 0.30g, the margin for die-cutting error relative to total coin mass is substantial, making exact weight-based attribution nearly impossible.
Cilicia in the fourth century BC was a patchwork of semi-autonomous cities and dynasts operating under loose Achaemenid suzerainty, which is precisely why attribution of small silver fractions from the region remains contested. Without a controlling ethnic or magistrate's name, pieces like this circulate through the literature reassigned from one candidate city to another — Soloi, Mallos, and Tarsos have all absorbed attributions that were later revised.
At 0.30g, the margin for die-cutting error relative to total coin mass is substantial, making exact weight-based attribution nearly impossible.