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Siglos - Darius I / Artaxerxes II THE ROYAL COINAGE - 3rd type
| Issuer | Achaemenid Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 490 BC - 375 BC |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | SNG Copenhagen#1029-1030, BMC Greek#15-69 |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Incuse punch of irregular rectangular form, deeply struck and divided into two unequal compartments by a central vertical ridge, producing the characteristic double-incuse or 'punch-mark' reverse typical of Achaemenid sigloi of the third type. The surface within the incuse shows rough, granular texture from the hammering process. A small secondary control mark or banker's mark appears to the lower right of the incuse impression. No legend or inscription is present. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
The "royal coinage" sigloi were struck under direct royal authority rather than by satrapal mints, making them among the most politically centralized coinages of the ancient world. The 3rd type spans a period that brackets the Persian Wars — Thermopylae, Salamis, Plataea — and archaeologists have recovered sigloi in hoards buried by Greek communities along invasion routes, almost certainly wealth concealed in advance of Persian troop movements that was never retrieved.
The .950 fineness held remarkably consistent across the entire Achaemenid royal series, a discipline rarely matched in ancient coinage of comparable longevity.