Achaemenid Empire - AV Daric
$9,400
Denomination: AR Daric
Date: Circa 505-480 BCE
Mint: Sardes
Weight: 8.31 gm
Grade: NGC – 8521788-011 CH XF Strike 5/5, Surface 4/5
Description: Persia, Lydia, Great Achaemenid Kings, XERXES I - DARIUS II. Obverse: Great King, quiver over shoulder, knelling, holding drawn bow. Reverse: Oblong Incuse punch.
History: Minted during the Achaemenid Empire, The Gold Daric is one of the earliest coins struck in the entire world. Named daric after King Darius, who ruled the Achaemenid Empire of Persia from 522-486 BC. These coins were traded internationally for over a century with examples turning up in Italy, Egypt, India, and beyond. The earliest of the few coins mentioned in The Bible. Excerpted from I Chronicles 29:7, “and they gave for the service of the house of God ... ten thousand darics”. In Ancient Greece, these Gold Darics were known as “Archers” after the image of the King with a bow and arrow on the obverse.
The Achaemenid Empire also known as the Persian Empire was an Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynastic in 550 BCE. Based in modern day Iran, it was the largest empire at that point in history, spanning a total of 5.5 million square kilometers. The Empire spanned from the Balkans and Egypt in the west, most of west Asia, the majority of Central Asia to the northeast, and the Indus Valley of South Asia to the southeast. The term Achaemenid means "of the family of the Achaemenis" (Old Persian: Romanized: Haxamanis translating to "having a friend's mind”).
Xerxes - Darius
