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Tetartemorion
| Issuer | Achaemenid Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 400 BC - 332 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 0.18 g |
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| Obverse description | Bearded Persian king or royal hero depicted in the canonical kneeling-running pose to right, rendered in archaic style. The figure wears a distinctive kidaris (royal headdress) and court robe, extending a dagger in the raised right hand while clutching a strung bow in the left. The dynamic posture, with one knee touching the ground, conveys both authority and martial readiness. The design fills the small flan with confident, deeply struck relief characteristic of Achaemenid Persian coinage of the fourth century BC. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Helmeted head of Athena facing left, rendered in the Greek archaic-to-early classical tradition, set within a shallow incuse circle that dominates the reverse field. The Attic helmet is rendered with fine detail despite the diminutive flan, with the cheek guards and bowl clearly articulated. The incuse treatment reflects the hammered striking technique typical of fractional silver coinage of this period. The field is otherwise plain, with no legend or additional devices. |
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| Additional information |
These fractional silver pieces were struck at Persian-controlled mints in western Anatolia to meet the demand for small-change transactions in a Greek-speaking commercial environment. The Achaemenid administration was pragmatic about local monetary custom — where Greek cities already used fractional denominations, satrapial mints simply continued the practice under Persian authority rather than imposing a unified coinage system.
The Sunrise collection reference places this among a tightly catalogued group of Anatolian fractions. At roughly a quarter-obol's worth of silver, these were the smallest meaningful unit in daily market exchange.