Uncertain Satrap (BC 350-341) Tetradrachm

Achaemenid Period, ca 350-334 BC. AR Tetradrachm (15.10g, 5h), struck ca 350-341 BC in Caria? Persian king or hero in kneeling-running stance right, drawing bow / Satrap on horseback right, thrusting spear. VF, attractive dark iridescent toning, flat strike. Rare. Ex CNG 36 (12/1995), lot 2079; Spink America (5/1995), lot 230; Pixodarus Hoard, 23.

The archer-horseman tetradrachms are one of the most enigmatic Persian coinages struck in Asia Minor prior to the invasion of Alexander the Great. Though various symbols and letters occur in the fields, no inscription exists to help us identify the issuer, mint, or purpose of issue. Konuk, however, identified two series, with and without subsidiary symbols on the reverse. Also, analysis of the Pixodarus Hoard has allowed the coinage to be dated from the decade beginning circa 350 BC. Additionally, as only the earlier, non-symbol, type is represented, Meadows concluded that the date of deposit of the hoard, 341 BC, served as a tentative divider between the two series.