Old is the coolest thing.

I need a bit of help with at least narrowing down when or where this one is from. Any help with either would be great.

 

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Achaemenid siglos - Persia

 

Should give you an idea.


Persian Empire, Lydia, Anatolia
AR Siglos
O: Kneeling-running figure of the Great King right, bearded, crowned, dagger in right hand, bow in left hand, waist indicated, pellets on sleeves.
R: Oblong incuse.
Sardes (Sart, Turkey) mint
14mm
5.2g
Carradice Type IV (middle) B, pl. XIV, 43; SNG Kayhan 1033; SGCV II 4683

 

Wow, yes! That looks like it. Thank you very much, Persia would not have been at the top of my list.

 

I am amazed to have a piece of history that old. The stories it could tell if it could talk. The hands it touched. It really humbles me.

 

Persian Empire, yes, but not minted in Persia (now Iran). These silver coins are called "siglos" by numismatists and were minted at Sardis, in Lydia, a western satrapy (province) of this large empire. Sardis used to be the capital of kings Midas and Cresus. Under Persian rule Sardis was the main producer of gold and silver coinage for the Persian Empire. Today it is just Sart, a small town in Western Turkey.

Your coin :
Obverse: Persian king kneeling-running r., holding dagger and bow, quiver over shoulder
Reverse: Incuse punch.

These coins were minted during the 5th and 4th centuries BC. The date fork can be narrowed from the style. Your coin most probably dates back from Darius II (424-404 BC) to Artaxerxes III (358-338 BC).

Here is mine:

(Xerxes II to Artaxerxes I (c. 5th Century BC) c. 486-450 BC.)

 

That helps narrow it down a great deal and gives me very detailed information. Thank you so very much!

 

I'm unsure if my silver siglo would have bought me a glass of wine back then??? hmmm. I guess I'll never know.

I'm looking forward to posting more of my ancient coins. I have many and I love history. They are truly passions of mine. Thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge.

 

We would love to see them and gladly help, if you need it.

 

Hi @MaryContrary ,

You can get a narrower timeframe by looking at this website and matching up your coin to the samples there. See https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=siglos

- Broucheion

 

Very helpful! Thank you Broucheion!

 

I looked mine up and it looks closest to these:

 

Very nice little siglos! They are fun coins. As it turns out, one of my most recent purchases was also an Achaemenid siglos, a bit older than yours:

 

ACHAEMENID EMPIRE
AR Siglos
OBVERSE: Persian king or hero in kneeling/running stance right, holding spear and bow
REVERSE: Incuse punch
Struck at Persia, 485-420 BC
5.5g, 16mm
Carradice Type IIIb, Group A/B (pl. XII, 18)