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Siglos - Gorgos II
| Issuer | Kingdom of Salamis (Cyprus) |
|---|---|
| Year | 450 BC - 430 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 11.18 g |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Cypriot |
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| Reverse description | Ram's head to right in high relief, set within a recessed square incuse punch, with the curved horn and woolly texture rendered in careful detail. Cypriot syllabic inscriptions appear in the field to the left (pa-si-le-wo-se) and below (gu-ru-ko-ne), reading 'of the King Gorgos.' The incuse square bears a granular or hatched interior ground typical of early Cypriot hammered coinage. The bold, plastic modeling of the ram's head reflects the mature Archaic style of Salaminian mint production. |
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| Additional information |
Gorgos II ruled Salamis during the tense decades following the Battle of Salamis-in-Cyprus (450 BC), when the island's city-kingdoms were caught between Athenian ambition and Persian pressure. His dynasty maintained a careful, often shifting allegiance — the Salaminian kings paid tribute to Persia while periodically accommodating Greek influence, a political balancing act reflected in the hybrid Cypriot-Greek character of their coinage. The siglos weight standard itself was borrowed from the Persian system, a deliberate signal of where ultimate loyalty resided.