Tetradrachm - temp. Artaxerxes III / Darius III

Features

Issuer Satrapy of Ionia (Achaemenid Satrapies)
King Artaxerxes III Ochus (358 BC - 336 BC)
Darius III Codomannus (336 BC - 330 BC)
Type Standard circulation coin
Years 350 BC - 333 BC
Value Tetradrachm (4)
Currency Drachm (550-330 BCE)
Composition Silver
Weight 15.21 g
Diameter 22.5 mm
Shape Round (irregular)
Technique Hammered
Demonetized Yes
Number
N#
72109
References BMC Greek# 4,
Reginald Stuart Poole; 1876. A Catalogue of the Greek Coins in the British Museum / Volume 2. Sicily. British Museum, London, United Kingdom.
And 26 more volumes.
BMC Greek# 5,
Reginald Stuart Poole; 1876. A Catalogue of the Greek Coins in the British Museum / Volume 2. Sicily. British Museum, London, United Kingdom.
And 26 more volumes.
BMC Greek# 6
Reginald Stuart Poole; 1876. A Catalogue of the Greek Coins in the British Museum / Volume 2. Sicily. British Museum, London, United Kingdom.
And 26 more volumes.

Obverse

Persian king, wearing kidaris and kandys, in kneeling-running stance right, holding spear in right hand, bow in left

Reverse

Incuse rectangle, containing pattern possibly depicting relief map of the hinterland of Ephesos

Comments

Johnston has interpreted this remarkable reverse design as a relief map of the hinterland of Ephesos, which would make it the earliest Greek map and first physical relief map known. On the right (north) are the mountains Tmolos and Messogis between the river valleys of the Caÿster and Maeander, to the left of which are three mountain ridges (Madranbaba Dagi, Karincali Dagi, and Akaba Tepesi). Johnston follows Six in suggesting that the coins were probably struck under the Persian general Memnon at Ephesos, circa 336-334 BC, in order to pay his army after he had captured the city, but before his defeat by Alexander at the Battle of Granicus in 334.

Johnston, Earliest 26; Mildenberg, Münzwesen pp. 25–6 and pl. XII, 110; BMC Ionia p. 324, 3 and 6; Jameson 1787; Pozzi 3138

This remarkable coin was subject to all sorts of wild interpretations before its reverse was recognized for what it is: the earliest known map. The coin in fact seems to have been struck in Ionia and to represent, in the valley, the river Caÿster running toward the sea to the west. The river Hermus runs to the north of the Tmolus range, and the Maeander runs to the south of the Mesogis range; the tributaries of the Maeander, the Harpasus and the Morsunas, divide the southern mountain into three ridges visible at the bottom of the coin. Protruding from the upper right is the Dibek Dagi, a 3,700-foot peak. The coin reminds us that the ancients were capable cartographers—maps were necessary for military operations, trade, etc.—but the materials that bore their handiwork were extremely perishable.

(PROVINCIAL COIN WITH ROYAL TYPE - Greco-Asiatic Standard - series IV)

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Date VG F VF XF AU UNC
ND (350 BC - 333 BC)  Photo
ND (350 BC - 333 BC)  ΠΥΘΑΓΟΡΗ[Σ]
ND (350 BC - 333 BC)  ΠΥΘΑΓΟΡΗΣ
ND (336 BC - 334 BC)  under the Persian General Memnon

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Past sales

Pictures Sale Date Version Grade Sold price
Picture 1 of a sold Tetradrachm - temp. Artaxerxes III / Darius IIIPicture 1 of a sold Tetradrachm - temp. Artaxerxes III / Darius III
Heritage Auctions
2019 January 6 - 7 NYINC World Coins Signature Auction - New York 3071
Lot 33192
Internet Archive
6 Jan 2019 ND (350 BC - 333 BC) AU
(NGC AU 5/5 - 1/5)
USD 2640.00
(incl. buyer's premium)
See the sales

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