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NYINC Signature Sale 3037 Sess. 2-4  5 January 2015
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Lot 30925

Estimate: 15 000 USD
Price realized: 20 000 USD
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Ancients
PERSIA. Achaemenid Empire. Darius I - Xerxes I (ca. 505-480 BC). AV daric (15mm, 8.34 gm). Great King in kneeling-running stance right, crowned, wearing royal robes and with quiver slung on back, drawing back bow and preparing to shoot arrow / Rectangular incuse punch with irregular interior surface. Carradice Type II (pl. XI, 11). Meadows, Administration 319. Sunrise Collection 19. Rare early issue! Well struck and nicely centered on a nice, oval flan. One of the finest examples extant. NGC MS 4/5 - 4/5. After the conquest of the Lydian Kingdom circ a 546 BC, the Achaemenid Persian Empire quickly adopted the Lydian concept of coinage and converted the recently invented gold stater into a new denomination, the daric, named after the Persian Great King Darius. Darics depicted a stylized image of the Great King in a martial pose. The second phase of the Daric coinage, seen here, depicts the Great King kneeling and drawing a bow, preparing to shoot an arrow. Later issues somewhat simplified the design and show the King holding a spear and bow, or a bow and dagger. Phase II darics were almost impossible to obtain until a small number appeared on the market recently. This Extremely Fine example, graded Mint State by NGC, must rank among the finest examples extant.

Estimate: 15000-20000 USD
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