Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Napata, post: 2283331, member: 76197&quot;]Hi everyone <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie2" alt=";)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />,</p><p><br /></p><p>I don&#039;t know if there is an actual thread dedicated to Achaemenid or satrapic coinage, but it would be nice to share each other what we know about them. Added to this, recent acquisitions of them for the members who got some.</p><p><br /></p><p>Persian coinage is often categorized as Greek coinage because the Achaemenid lineage started minting due to the conquest of Sardes of Lydia. They appropriated Lydian technology as their own. Moreover, it is highly suspected most coinage was for strict use in Western part of the Persian empire due to hoards disposition. Silver was a favored currency for the Greek world while gold was favored in the Middle East. There is few to none sigloi found in the Zagros and beyond (Persian administrative center).&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><b>Achaemenid coinage</b></span>: </p><p>Ancient Persian coins from royal issue after few decades following the capture of Sardes (and its mint) of Lydia. The earliest issues were nearly identical to the Lydian production lines until Darius I redesigned it with the reknown &quot;toxotai&quot; ([running] archers). It was either made of silver (AR) (weight: siglos (plural: sigloi) or gold (named the daric). The Achaemenids themselves did not name their coins unless pertinent records did not pass the test of time. </p><p><br /></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><b>Satrapic coinage</b></span>:</p><p>Not long before the Macedonian conquest of Persia by Alexander the Great, the rights of minting coinage were slowly transferred to the satraps under the rule of the Persian king. Most likely, there could mint their own coins under condition to display on the observe the propagandist &quot;toxotai&quot;. Hence, a great variety of coins appeared and new forms of the Great King/Hero running archers (e.g. sitting on his throne, bust, in his demonstration chariot, etc.). Some issues are made of bronze (AE). </p><p><br /></p><p>==============================================</p><p><br /></p><p>Here&#039;s some self-snapped photos of a part of my <a href="http://imgur.com/a/jd67R" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://imgur.com/a/jd67R" rel="nofollow">sigloi collection</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p>I uploaded on Imgur Image sharing platform (because high resolution).</p><p><br /></p><p>We can see an example of the Type I siglos (half-length hieratic hero-king archer holding a bow and 2 arrows).</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://i.imgur.com/vJR0pXt.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p><br /></p><p>There are three fractionary sigloi (1/6 siglos), but two of them pretend to be sigloi as they are fourre (low-valued metal such as bronze coated with high-valued metal). </p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://i.imgur.com/v3HUjc7.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p><img src="http://i.imgur.com/8POXY66.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p><br /></p><p>At last, there is a Type III<b>b</b> (<b>subclass B</b>) with a special relief symbol within the incuse punch; it is a lion relief. According to certain scholars, it might be the symbol for the mint of Sardes as the Croesid coinage had the &quot;lion vs bull&quot; iconography at the obverse.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://i.imgur.com/j5dfLQq.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p><br /></p><p>There is such a variety of Achaemenid coinage. Does any member have some to share with all?[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in