Siglos - Darius II / Artaxerxes II THE ROYAL COINAGE - 4th type B - middle

The royal siglos changed little across successive reigns by deliberate policy — the Achaemenid court treated coinage as a statement of continuity, not individual kingship, which is why attributing specific pieces to Darius II versus Artaxerxes II remains an exercise in die typology rather than regnal epigraphy. This "4th type B middle" designation follows Carradice's classification system, the most widely accepted framework for sequencing the royal coinage, though the boundaries between sub-types are contested.

Sigloi circulated primarily in western Anatolia and served Persian military payroll functions — Xenophon records Cyrus the Younger paying Greek mercenaries in Persian silver before Cunaxa in 401 BC.