Persian Siglos of Darius the Great, 485 BC

[physics-fan3.14]

At my church group, we are currently studying the Book of Daniel. King Darius the Great, of the Medo-Persian empire plays a prominent role in this book, as you may know. As a sort of show-and-tell, I bought this coin to illustrate one of the lessons. This is a siglos, a small silver coin about the size of a dime (and about twice as thick). It shows Darius in a kneeling/running position, with a bow in one hand and a spear in the other, and a quiver of arrows on his back. The reverse is an irregular punch. This coin was minted between 485 and 420 BC.

 

The Persian empire under Cyrus conquered Lydia, where coins were first minted in 561BC. Cyrus realized that coins were a fantastic idea, and greatly conducive to economy, to he began to spread the technology across his empire. I think its really awesome to think that when this coin was minted, coins had really only been around for 80 years or so (and now its 2500 years old!). This is by far the oldest coin I've ever handled.

 

So, if you guys have any Persian coins (siglos, darics, or anything older) feel free to share them here!

 

[RWB]

Nice post.

 

Others interpret the figure as a warrior (or the King) assuming a kneeling position prior to beginning an attack. This is consistent with bas reliefs, but does not explain the awkward body position any better than does a running figure.

[World Colonial]

I only know of these coins existence but nothing about them. Still, always thought they are interesting.

[johnny9434]

hey physics, thats great stuff to know and what kinda really got our hobby going today. most interesting to say the least. best wishes

[the_Thing ®]

Very nice and attractive coin. I've never owned any Persian coins, but it looks like it could be fun putting together a small collection.