The Gold Daric and it's historical significance on Sparta

Hey everyone,

I've been thinking about the next Ancient coin I want to pick up and I've finally decided on picking up a Persian Gold Daric.

I love that it has so much historical significance and is actually mentioned by the legendary Ancient historian Plutarch.

Agesilaus was a Spartan King who lived between 444 BC - 360 BC.

In 394, while encamped on the plain of Thebe, Agesilaus was planning a campaign in the interior of Asia Minor, or even an attack on Artaxerxes II himself, when he was recalled to Greece to fight in the Corinthian War between Sparta and the combined forces of Athens, Thebes, Corinth, Argos and several minor states.

The outbreak of the conflict had been encouraged by Persian payments to Sparta's Greek rivals. Tens of thousands of Darics, the main currency in Achaemenid coinage, were used to bribe the Greek states to start a war against Sparta.

According to Plutarch, Agesilaus said upon leaving Asia Minor "I have been driven out by 10,000 Persian archers", a reference to "Archers" (Toxotai) the Greek nickname for the Darics from their obverse design, because that much money had been paid to politicians in Athens and Thebes in order to start a war against Sparta.

 

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Congrats capturing a significant piece of History, @Gam3rBlake ...

This one is mine:

ACHAEMENID EMPIRE


PERSIA, Achaemenid Empire.
Darios I to Xerxes II.
Circa 485-420 BC.
AV Daric (14mm, 8.30 g).
Lydo-Milesian standard. Sardes mint.
Persian king or hero, wearing kidaris and kandys, quiver over shoulder, in kneeling-running stance right, holding spear in right hand, bow in left /
Incuse punch.
Carradice Type IIIb, Group A/B (pl. XIII, 27);
Meadows, Administration 321; BMC Arabia pl. XXIV, 26.

Twenty-five drachmas equals one Daric

 

Very nice!!

Oh I don't actually have it yet. I just finally saved up enough money to buy it so I'll probably be picking it up in a week or two.

 

Ah, posting before you own... some folks feel that can be bad luck in eventually getting it to your hands.

However, they feel wonderful in-hand. A Daric, at approx 1/3rd TOZ is a great feel. The specific gravity of Gold gives a coin a very satisfactory heft.

Gold coins in the US were not allowed to be owned again until 1975. I remember that ban, and was frustrated that I was not allowed to buy Gold bullion. After we were freed from that silly ban, I started imbibing in that precious metal. However, I did not get any Ancient gold until a few years ago.

 

Is the NGC holder a bit thicker than normal?

It says it's 8+ grams but it's tiny in terms of diameter so all I can think of is that maybe it's thick?

I just think it's pretty crazy that the Darics that collectors like us are buying could potentially have been the exact same gold Darics that the Persian emissaries used to bribe the Greeks to declare war on Sparta 2500 years ago.

 

No clue. I have very few that I ever purchased entombed. I always bust them open and free my Ancients. They have been around for 2300+ years... how is a modern marketing gimmick as a silly-assed plastic box going to help it?

 

Can you take a picture from the side of the coin so I can see how thick it is?

Also:

A slab verifies authenticity in the event you ever want to sell.

But more importantly a slab protects it from enviornmental & accidental damage.

If you drop a slab the coin will not get dinged or scratched.

But if you drop a raw coin the odds of damaging it if dropped rise significantly.

Yes some people say "Well I'm very careful so I would never drop my coin."

But that's what everyone says...until they drop a coin.

 

For ancient coins this is actually not true.


I do highly respect the ancient coin numismatists at NGC and their opinions it would be be nice if they offered an option for an authenticity opinion without the slab or grade.

Slabs aren’t airtight so environmental damage and particularly BD in humid environments is still a problem. You can’t treat a coin that’s in a slab.

There are reasons museums don’t have their ancient coins in slabs...

As to your new addition I think it’s a wonderful coin and type. Congratulations!

A Daric is still on my list. Here is the silver Persian Siglos with lots of interest from around the same period.

 

Indeed, a very cool type, I still have no ancient Persian gold of any period (though I think that's understandable for the Parthian era ). But I do have some of the silver silo (and the mostly-forgotten local bronze coinage featuring the same design):

 

@Parthicus, that third siglos of yours is a jolly coin, where the king carries three balloons instead of a spear!

A daric is still on my list, although a Sasanian dinar likely comes first. Recently I found a number of sigloi/ fractional sigloi.



And here you see the sigloi from aside. I'm sure a daric has about the same form. The top one (that with the ringlets on the shirt) is a fourrée. And the thin thing hovering over them is the side of a 10th century silver coin, just for comparison.



Are there any fractional gold darics known? I would expect it.

 

I stopped collecting Modern coins over 30 years ago due to this ridiculous marketing change that occurred in the Hobby. This anomaly of entombing coins is only approx 30 years old. I do not drink the koolade.

My Daric is 2500 years old. And I have a reasonably large raw Ancient collection. Hmmm... the marketing brainwashing has not affected my coins.

I will stick to raw to fully appreciate my Ancient Hobby and its rich History.

 

I would make that more clear in your OP. I had a comment specific to the OP coin that would have been a waste of my time since it's some random persons.
Please post your when/if you do actually get it.

 

Your Siglos is fantastic, Curtis! Great example.

 

I believe @panzerman , John, has a fractional Daric.

I really like your fractional sigloi and your great comparison! Well done, @Pellinore .

 

Most of these points are not true.
Being slabed does NOT verify authenticity.
You CAN break a coin if you accidently drop the Slab is in (though, who cares? I've never dropped and broken an ancient).
I get that you are new to this and are passionate. So I would recommend you spend more time asking questions then stating hypothesis and posting coins that aren't yours.
You may want to go back and edit your misinformation. Don't want other newbs to read it and think you knew what you were writing.

Here is a non gold Persian coin I do own:

Not his coin. He has enough money to buy one.
Hence Gandy and my confusion.

 

I have change a three different darics and finally get stopped on this one. This is a late type contemporary Darius III - Alexander III. I do love the obverce with high relief (I think greek celator) and this special type reverce fantastic!
I remember a darics mentions also in Herodotus, Xenophont, Diodorus and Bible... This is a really historicaly significant coin.

 

Yours is incredible, @I_v_a_n ! Very likely paid for the conflict with Alexander III, and/or was part of the Achaemenid Treasury TAKEN by Alexander! Very nice!

I only have this Siglos of Darius III / Alexander III time period...


Persia Achaemenid
Type IV
Artaxerxes II to Daris III
375-336 BCE
AR Siglos
15.2mm 5.45g
running daggar bow
incuse
BMC 172ff rev

 

Wow, thats a great silver example.

 

I did make it clear in my OP.

My OP was just a post explaining what I bought and why along with some historical information.

Just because I don’t physically have the coin in my hand doesn’t mean anything.

I paid for it so it’s mine.

I own it and it’s the exact same coin in the photos I took and so I have a right to share it.

 

Oh. I guess your wording was just confusing. I saved up enough and probably will pick it up, sounds very different then, I paid for and own it.
I just reread your OP and it is not clear. Nor have you cleared up your mistakes about slabs.
Welcome to the world of ancients. Hopefully you use that coin as your avatar.... soon