@Alegandron :Isn't that siglos just a bit too early for defending against Alexander the Great (336-323 BC)?
Artaxerxes II to Darios III. Ca. 375-336 B.C. Good point. Could be, however, not sure if I have seen too many of Darius. Understood that he used a lot of predecessor coins. Besides, if you were amassing monies for a war, coinage only a few years old would possibly used. I feel it is not unreasonable to think these may had been involved. Silver sticks around for a while, and I even trade modern coins and currency today from the 60's.
Easton Considering it is not uncommon to find US pennies from the 50's or 60's in pocket change over 50 years after they were minted, I don't see why it would be difficult to imagine an ancient coin being in circulation 50-60 years after it was made. Especially considering these probably saw less circulation than coins see today. In fact, we know from hoard finds in the UK that it is not unusual to discover Roman Republic coins mixed in with coins from around 100 CE, suggesting some Roman Republic denarii (and other Roman coins) were probably still readily available in circulation over 140 years after they were minted.
What characteristic are you using to separate Type IV late enough to belong to Darius' reign from those of Artaxerxes III or IV or, for that matter, what evidence is there that the Persian mint saw any need to make any change in the design between rulers? Hoards do suggest Type IV were later than Type III and II but I am unclear on the question as to whether subtypes were separated by date or place of minting (or something else). Can you recommend a reference that addresses these matters?
@Sallent and @Alegandron , I never said the siglos wasn't in circulation during Alexander's time. It likely was. I said the siglos probably was not minted by the Great King to finance his defense against Alexander's invasion, since Alexander did not even become king of Makedon until the very end of the date range for this siglos. Alegandron suggested that it was used to finance the Persian fight against Alexander. I was pointing out that the dates in Alegandron's attribution make that unlikely. Circulation is another matter entirely.
My reply was based solely on the dates contained in Alegandron's attribution. If those dates are correct, then I don't see the connection to the fight against Alexander. I know nothing about Persian coins.