Phokaia (BC 477-388) B- - EL 1/6 Stater

ca 478-387 BC. EL Hekte (2.50g), struck ca 410 BC. Head of bearded Persian satrap (Pharnabazos) left, wearing a Persian tiara bound with an elaborate diadem; behind, seal swimming downwards / Quadripartite incuse square. Unique and apparently unpublished. aEF.

This coin bears what is surely a portrait of the famous Persian satrap Pharnabazos, who was active in Hellespont during the last years of the 5th century. He based himself in the city of Daskyleion, which had been a possession of his family since the 470s. His family was related to the Achaemenid royal house. The portrait is surely Pharnabazos since it is exactly the same as on named silver staters issued ca 410 probably in Kyzikos but possibly in Ionia (as BMC, Ionia, p. 352, 12, Kraay/Hirmer 618 and SNG von Aulock 1216). It is fascinating that his portrait should appear on a hekte from Phokaia - the fact that it was hitherto unknown implies that it was originally issued in very small numbers, perhaps as a donative of some kind.