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Siglos - Darius I / Xerxes I THE ROYAL COINAGE - 2nd type
| Issuer | Achaemenid Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 510 BC - 480 BC |
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| Shape | Round (irregular) |
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| Obverse description | The Persian Great King or royal hero depicted in a running-kneeling posture to the right, wearing a kandys (Persian royal robe) and a crown or kidaris. He holds a drawn bow in his extended right hand in the act of loosing an arrow, with a quiver visible at his shoulder. The figure is rendered in an archaic, schematic style characteristic of early Achaemenid coinage, set within a plain field on an irregularly shaped flan. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
The royal sigloi issued under Darius I established the first truly imperial Persian coinage, replacing earlier Lydian types following the conquest of Croesus around 547 BC. The specific dating of this second type to roughly 510–480 BC places its later production squarely within the preparations for Xerxes' massive invasion of Greece — a campaign that required extraordinary logistical expenditure, much of it paid in precisely this silver.
Sigloi circulated widely across the Aegean world and appear in Greek hoards with enough frequency that Athenian and Spartan soldiers would have handled them directly. The Persepolis fortification tablets record grain and labor payments denominated in sigloi during this exact period.