Silver Half Shekel, Sidon, 410-400 BCE
Type/Object Name: Ob: Fortified city wall, boat, two lions. | Re: Persian king in court robe and crown combats rampant lion.
Dates: 410-400 BCE
Medium: Silver, Half Shekel
Dimensions: Diameter 20.4 mm, Weight 6.4522 gÂ
Credit Line: On loan to Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØArt Museum, courtesy of John Nebel
Notes: Conquests of Alexander the Great
Sidon was a powerful and important city on the western coast of Phoenicia in the eastern Mediterranean region. This coin was made when it was part of the Persian Empire. The obverse portrays the fortification wall of the city, indicated by four towers, with a battleship in front of it and two lions below. The reverse shows the Persian king, wearing a crown and court robe. The king holds a lion by its mane and is about to stab it with the short Persian sword, the akinakes, held in his right hand. The lion stands on its hind legs and splays its forepaws. These motifs are very common on Persian sculptures and sealstones and represent royal power. The coin connects the power of Sidon with the power of the Persian king.
Collection: Coin, John Nebel
Bibliography: Betlyon, John W. 1976. A New Chronology for the Pre-Alexandrine Coinage of Sidon. In The American Numismatic Society Museum Notes 21. Page 18 #8 and Plate 2 #8. New York: The American Numismatic Society; Kraay, Colin M. 1976. Archaic and Classical Greek Coins. Page 289 #1057 and Plate 61 #1057. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.