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Obol
| Issuer | Uncertain Cilician city |
|---|---|
| Year | 400 BC - 301 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 9 mm |
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| Obverse description | Bearded male head in right profile, identified as Ares or a warrior deity, wearing a crested Attic helmet with prominent comb and cheekpieces rendered in bold relief. The facial features are strongly modeled, with a defined brow, prominent nose, and full beard. The field to the right is largely plain, with a dotted border partially visible along the coin's periphery. The style is characteristic of Cilician civic coinage of the fourth century BC, reflecting strong Athenian artistic influence. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse description | Athena's owl (glaux) standing left in three-quarter facing view, with large forward-facing eyes rendered in high relief and a distinctly radiating feather crown around the head. The bird is depicted with compact, naturalistic body and taloned feet resting on a ground line. Two elongated olive leaves flank the owl on either side, framing the central device. The overall composition closely emulates Athenian numismatic iconography, reflecting the widespread influence of the 'owl' coinage type across the eastern Mediterranean during the fourth century BC. |
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| Additional information |
Cilicia in the fourth century produced a bewildering number of small silver fractions from cities, dynasts, and satraps whose identities remain disputed or entirely unknown. The attribution to a specific mint is often impossible without hoard evidence, and Göktürk's catalogue acknowledges as much by grouping dozens of types under uncertain issuers. This piece falls into that unresolved zone.
The Persian satrapal system that governed Cilicia through most of this period permitted local coinage, which is why so many stylistically distinct but administratively obscure issues survive.