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Obol - Darayan II King right of altar
| Issuer | Kingdom of Persis (Persian Empires) |
|---|---|
| Year | 75 BC - 25 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | Haaff Persis#566, Alram#566 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The king, Darios II, stands facing left at right of a fire altar, depicted in the act of sacrificing. The altar, rendered with a stepped base and flame rising from its bowl, occupies the centre of the field. An Aramaic legend appears above in the upper field. The composition is executed in the compact, highly schematic style typical of Persis silver fractional coinage. |
| Reverse script | Aramaic |
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| Additional information |
Persis was not a successor state in name only — local dynasts there maintained continuous coin production through the Seleucid collapse and well into the Parthian period, asserting a distinctly Iranian identity at a moment when most of the plateau had been absorbed into Arsacid administrative networks. Darev II (Greek: Darius) issued in a region that had been the heartland of Achaemenid power, and the coinage reflects a deliberate archaizing impulse, consciously invoking older Persian royal traditions.
The obol denomination places this squarely in small-change circulation, likely within Persis itself rather than long-distance trade.