Catalog
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| Issuer | Paphos |
|---|---|
| Year | 450 BC - 400 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Round (irregular) |
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| Obverse description | Bull standing to left on a ground line, rendered in archaic Cypriot style. A winged solar disk appears above the bull's back, and an ankh symbol is positioned to the left. Cypriot-Syllabic script characters are inscribed in the field between the fore and hind legs, likely representing the name or title of the issuing authority. |
|---|---|
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| Mint | Paphos |
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| Additional information |
Paphos, on Cyprus's southwestern coast, operated under a dynastic system of city-kings whose loyalty shifted between Persian overlords and Hellenic ambitions throughout the fifth century. The Siglos weight standard itself — borrowed from the Persian administrative system — reflects that ambivalence precisely: a Greek city minting in a Persian weight denomination, a quiet negotiation in metal between two worlds.
The truncated name "Aristo..." almost certainly refers to Aristokypros or a related dynast, though the fragmentary attribution has prompted disagreement among specialists since the BMC cataloging.