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Obol
| Issuer | Tarsos |
|---|---|
| Year | 389 BC - 375 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Drachm |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Facing female head rendered in three-quarter view, turned very slightly to the left, with wavy hair radiating outward from the face and framing the cheeks in a naturalistic Classically-influenced style. The facial features are finely modelled with large almond-shaped eyes, a straight nose, and full lips. The effigy is enclosed within a plain inner border and an outer beaded border, filling the flan. No legend is present in the field. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Head of Aphrodite depicted in left profile, adorned with an ornate stephanos crown, a single-pendant earring, and a necklace, emphasising the goddess's characteristic attributes of beauty and adornment. The hair is neatly arranged beneath the stephanos, and the neck is rendered with careful modelling. The design is executed in the refined Cilician die-cutting tradition of the early fourth century BC. No legend appears in the field. |
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| Additional information |
Tarsos operated as a semi-autonomous satrapal mint under Achaemenid oversight during this period, producing small silver fractions that circulated alongside Persian-issue coinage across Cilicia. The city's mint was active enough to supply local markets without full Persian administrative control — an arrangement that held until Alexander's campaigns ended it permanently.
The SNG France and Sunrise references both place this squarely among the better-documented Cilician fractional series, though individual die pairings within the type still attract specialist attention.