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Siglos - Artaxerxes I / Artaxerxes II THE ROYAL COINAGE - 3rd type B - late
| Issuer | Achaemenid Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 450 BC - 375 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 15 mm |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Plain, undecorated deep incuse punch of irregular oblong form, struck with a single punch die. The incuse cavity shows no design elements, symbols, or inscriptions, presenting a rough, striated surface characteristic of early Achaemenid hammered silver coinage. The punch mark occupies the majority of the reverse field. |
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| Mint | Sardes |
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| Additional information |
The royal sigloi of this period were struck not at a single imperial mint but almost certainly at Sardis, the western administrative capital where Achaemenid treasurers managed tribute flows from the Aegean satrapies. These coins circulated widely through the Greek world — Athenian soldiers and mercenaries handled them regularly — yet Persian authorities showed no interest in adapting the design to local tastes, a deliberate conservatism that persisted for over a century of essentially unchanged production.
The long overlap between Artaxerxes I and II attributions reflects a genuine die-sequence problem that remains unresolved: reign boundaries cannot be established from the coins themselves.