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Siglos - Darius I / Xerxes I THE ROYAL COINAGE - 3rd type A
| Issuer | Achaemenid Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 490 BC - 475 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Siglos (1/20) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The Great King depicted in the kneeling-running attitude to right, his body shown in profile with head turned slightly forward. The royal figure holds a long spear in his right hand and a bow in his left, with a quiver visible over his right shoulder. Two pellets are typically present behind the bearded profile. The design is rendered in the archaic Persian court style, with bold, schematic lines characteristic of early Achaemenid royal coinage. No legend or inscription appears in the field. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Plain, irregular incuse punch occupying the full reverse surface, the result of the hammered striking technique employed at the Sardis mint. The incuse is roughly rectangular in form with uneven, striated surfaces created by the punch tool, divided into irregular facets with no additional design elements, inscriptions, or symbols. This simple reverse is characteristic of all Achaemenid silver sigloi throughout the series. |
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| Additional information |
The 3rd type A siglos falls within the period bracketing Xerxes I's invasion of Greece — Marathon behind it, Thermopylae and Salamis ahead. These coins circulated as the logistical currency of empire, used to pay Greek mercenaries and Aegean traders who had little reason to care whose archer punched the die, so long as the silver was good. Achaemenid royal coinage was never tariffed against a fixed exchange with the gold daric by decree alone; the ratio held by weight convention and habit across an enormous geographic span.