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This is a silver coin about the size of a dime, but thicker and heavier. This particular design was struck in ancient Persia from about 450 to 330 BC, during the height of the old Persian empire. The image on the left is the obverse (face) and shows the king running witha bow in his hand. The reverse (right) is simply a rectangular punch mark. This particular specimen was graded gF, meaning good to fine and cost me about fifty bucks. It isnt quite the oldest coin in my collection. I have a small silver coin called a 1/12 stater struck in Miletos, Asia Minor, that might date to 500 BC. The dealer was dubious though, and I myself thought the design was a little too modern for so early a date. 450 BC seemed more reasonable. Remember, the first coins were only struck as recently as around 700 BC.
Category All / All
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 576 x 504px
File Size 98 kB
They didn't have very good dies in those days, so the strike wouldn't have produced the mirror like smoothness of modern coins. In other words, it might have looked very much like this when new. It's possible though that the image of the king would have been sharper, and that the blurry look it has today is a result of wear. Other coins I show in Scraps almost certainly look just about the same now as they did when they left the mint.
The Nero sestertius, for instance, would have had a bright coppery sheen, like a new penny, but not actually shiney. There's a gash in the emperor's diadem, but otherwise there's little wear. The Athenian tetradrach is also in pretty good shape, other than the proofing cut. It looks rather brighter in the hand then it does in this photo, but never would have been actually shiney.
Ocassionally you do see almost modern looking denarii that shine nearly as brightly as a modern dime.
The Nero sestertius, for instance, would have had a bright coppery sheen, like a new penny, but not actually shiney. There's a gash in the emperor's diadem, but otherwise there's little wear. The Athenian tetradrach is also in pretty good shape, other than the proofing cut. It looks rather brighter in the hand then it does in this photo, but never would have been actually shiney.
Ocassionally you do see almost modern looking denarii that shine nearly as brightly as a modern dime.
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