Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Siglos - Artaxerxes II / Darius III THE ROYAL COINAGE - 4th type C - late
| Issuer | Achaemenid Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 375 BC - 330 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Siglos (1/20) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | The Persian Great King depicted in a running-kneeling posture facing right, wearing the royal kidaris (tiara) and a long robe (kandys). The royal figure holds a spear in the right hand and a bow in the left hand, both rendered in a schematic, archaic style characteristic of Achaemenid royal coinage. The design is confined within an irregular flan with no surrounding legend or inscription, consistent with the late fourth-type siglos series. The relief is low and the strike typical of hammered production, resulting in slight flatness across portions of the design. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Plain |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
The fourth type siglos was the dominant small silver of the western Persian empire for much of the fourth century, circulating heavily through Anatolia and the Levant alongside — and often in direct competition with — Greek fractional silver. Artaxerxes II's reign was the longest of any Achaemenid king, spanning 45 years, yet the royal coinage changed almost imperceptibly throughout; the type boundaries scholars use today are largely constructs imposed by later die studies rather than any intentional royal reform.
By the reign of Darius III, siglos production was already declining as Alexander's campaigns disrupted Persian minting infrastructure. Many late-type pieces were likely melted after Gaugamela in 331 BC to fund Greek operations.