PERSIA. Achaemenid Kings. Circa mid-4th Century BC. AV Daric (8.36 gm). Great King of Persia, crowned, wearing kidaris, in kneeling-running stance right, holding bow and spear, quiver at shoulder / Oblong incuse punch. Carradice Type IIIb, 51. EF, on a magnificent oversized flan with exceptional deatail for this normally crude issue. $5250.
Past attempts to attribute Persian royal coinage to specific rulers cannot now be accepted, and even the identification of the main figure as the Great King is open to doubt; some scholars seeing a generalized depiction of a Persian hero. Nevertheless, a clear typology can be constructed for the period spanning the Lydian style Kroiseid staters to Alexander's conquest of the empire. The earliest gold type in the series depicts the figure in what would become the standard running-kneeling position, drawing a bow. Evidence suggests that the Kroiseid type was struck down to the last decade of the sixth century BC, with the type II archer perhaps being struck for a period of some fifteen years or less. "Archer" or "daric" (from Darius I) are both terms found in ancient texts describing the Persian gold issues. When king Agesilaus of Sparta was forced to end his campaign to liberate the Greek states of Asia Minor in 394 BC, he blamed the 30,000 "archers" the Persians used to stir up dissent among his erstwhile Greek allies. Type III issues with the figure holding a bow and spear were struck in immense quantities from the early fifth century down to circa 375 BC, and several sub-groups can be identified, although more research is needed to clearly define them. There is some overlap with type IV, figure holding bow and dagger, which began in the mid fifth century and ended with the Alexandrine issues after 331 BC.
