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Obol
| Issuer | Uncertain Cilician city |
|---|---|
| Year | 350 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Janiform (double-faced) head of Athena rendered in profile facing both left and right, each visage helmeted with a crested Attic helmet. The goddess is adorned with pendant earrings, a pearl necklace, and the aegis at the neck. The double portrait is executed in the compact, stylized manner characteristic of Cilician civic coinage of the mid-4th century BC. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Bare-headed bust of a youthful Herakles depicted facing left, the hero's neck and shoulders draped with the Nemean lion's skin tied at the throat. The bust is rendered in the assured, rounded style typical of Cilician silver coinage of the Persian period, occupying the full coin field without inscription. |
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| Additional information |
Cilicia in the fourth century BC was a patchwork of semi-autonomous cities operating under loose Achaemenid suzerainty, each with tacit Persian permission to strike small silver for local exchange. The inability to firmly attribute this obol reflects how poorly documented many of these mints remain — SNG Levante assembled the most systematic attempt at classification, but dozens of issues still resist assignment to a specific city.
At 0.76g, these fractional silvers were the working currency of daily transactions, not tribute or temple dedications.