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Stater - Balakros
| Issuer | Satrapy of Cilicia |
|---|---|
| Year | 333 BC - 323 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Silver Stater (3) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The god Baaltars (Baal of Tarsos) seated in three-quarter view to the left upon a throne with ornate legs, his torso nude and muscular, draped from the waist down. He holds a bunch of grapes and an ear of grain in his extended left hand and rests his right hand upon the throne arm; an eagle stands above his outstretched wrist. To the right of the throne, the Greek letters Beta (B) and Sigma (Σ) appear in the field, serving as the monogram of the satrap Balakros. The composition is enclosed within a dotted border and exhibits the syncretic Greco-Persian artistic style typical of Tarsos mint issues of the late Achaemenid period. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | B Σ |
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| Mint | Log in to see details |
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| Additional information |
Balakros served as satrap of Cilicia under Alexander the Great following the decisive Macedonian victory at Issus in 333 BC, replacing the Persian administrative apparatus with a Macedonian one almost overnight. The Cilician mint at Tarsus — already experienced in producing high-quality silver coinage under Persian oversight — continued operating with minimal interruption, now striking in service of Macedonian imperial ambitions rather than Achaemenid ones. Balakros held the satrapy until his death around 323 BC, the same year as Alexander, giving this issue a sharply bounded production window of roughly a decade.
The SNG France 197 variety designation suggests a die difference from the principal recorded type — likely in the ethnic or a minor reverse detail.