Exceptional Type II Daric from the Period of the Greco-Persian War
PERSIA, Achaemenid Empire. temp.
Darios I to Xerxes I. Circa 505-480 BC. AV Daric (14mm, 8.32 g). Persian king or hero in kneeling-running stance right, shooting bow / Rectangular incuse punch. Carradice Type II (pl. XI, 11 – same rev. punch); Meadows,
Administration 319; BMC Arabia –; Sunrise 19. EF. Very rare Type II daric, among the finest known.
The Achaemenid series began in the mid-late sixth century BC, contemporary with the famous Kroisid coinage, and lasted until the conquest of Persia by Alexander the Great in the 330s BC. The term “daric” dates from the fifth century BC, and was used by the Greeks as a term for Perisan coinage, particularly the gold (see Herodotos 7. 28). Its name derives from that of the Persian king Darios I, under whom the Persian coinage began. Ian Carradice’s study, “The ‘Regal’ Coinage of the Persian Empire” (in Coinage and Administration in the Athenian and Persian Empires [Oxford: BAR, 1987]) forms the modern basis for our understanding of this interesting coinage.
The Persians did not traditionally use coinage; instead, they employed the age-old systems of barter and trade-in-kind. Their eventual adoption of coinage was related first to their conquests of Lydia and then to their conflicts with the Greek city states in the sixth through fourth centuries BC. During these wars, the Persians employed Greek mercenaries, who, unlike their eastern counterparts, were accustomed to receiving payment in coinage.
Type II coinage was struck during the period of Achaemenid Empire’s attempt, under Darios I and Xerxes I, to conquer the Greek mainland. For an excellent and detailed account of the period of the Greco-Persian Wars, including specific accounts of the Battles of Marathon, Thermopylai, Salamis, and Plataiai, and the destruction of the Athenian Acroplis, as well as characterizations of the major figures of this conflict – including Themistocles (see Robert B. Strassler, The Landmark Herodotus: The Histories [New York: Random House, 2009]).
A check of the records of pieces sold over the last decade reveals that the average grade for Type II darics is VF, and only one piece graded good VF has been offered.
