Catalog
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| Issuer | Amathus |
|---|---|
| Year | 450 BC - 430 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | A recumbent lion facing right occupies the central field, depicted in profile with naturalistic detail characteristic of Cypriot coinage of the period. Above the lion, an eagle is shown in flight, wings spread, moving to the right. In the exergue, the syllabic sign 'mo' is inscribed in the Cypriot syllabary, serving as an ethnic or mintmark abbreviation for Amathus. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The forepart of a lion facing right with jaws agape, rendered in bold relief, dominates the design. The type is contained entirely within a deeply recessed incuse square, a hallmark of early Cypriot coinage technique. The powerful musculature of the lion's chest and forelegs is depicted with pronounced stylization consistent with fifth-century Amathusian die-cutting. |
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| Additional information |
Amathus was one of the last Cypriot city-kingdoms to resist Hellenization, maintaining close ties to its Phoenician and Eteocypriot roots well into the Classical period. Its coinage from this era is among the most poorly documented in the Cypriot series — Tziambazis remains the primary reference precisely because so few specimens have entered public collections or received systematic study.
The siglos weight standard used here follows Persianizing practice, consistent with Cypriot mints operating under Achaemenid influence during the mid-fifth century.