1/2 Shekel - Ba'alshallim II Sidon

Ba'alshallim II ruled Sidon as a Persian vassal in the decades following the consolidation of Achaemenid control over Phoenicia, and his coinage reflects that uncomfortable duality — a local dynast asserting civic identity within the rigid framework of Persian imperial administration. The Sidonians retained minting rights largely because their fleet was indispensable to Persian naval operations; these coins are, in a practical sense, a byproduct of Sidon's value as a maritime power rather than any granted autonomy.

The sixteen-year attribution window is conventional rather than precise. Die-study work, particularly Betlyon's sequencing, allows rough internal ordering, but absolute dates remain tied to the broader dynastic chronology of Sidonian kings reconstructed partly from Phoenician inscriptions.