Lot 1145
Egypt, Achaemenid Period. Artaxerxes III Ochus. Silver Tetradrachm (16.49 g), 343/2-338/7 BC. Helmeted head of Athena right, frontal eye. Rev. 'Pharaoh Artaxerxes' (Egyptian demotic), owl standing right, head facing; above to left, olive-spray with berry and crescent; all within incuse square. (Van Alfen p. 25, 3, pl. 6, 115). Very rare. Huge flan. Some scattered insignificant scratches on both sides. Choice very fine. Estimate $4,000UP
While imitative Athenian tetradrachms commonly circulated in Egypt and the Southern Levant, this piece is remarkable for its legend, written in Egyptian demotic ("popular") script that names the Persian Great King, Artaxerxes III, as Pharaoh. The sudden and completely unexpected use of demotic here is explained by the historical context of the coinage, which was struck following the defeat of the anti-Persian rebel pharaoh, Nektanebo II in 342 BC. Nektanebo's rare gold coinage had spoken to Egyptians in hieroglyphic pictog to underline the national flavor of his revolt despite the fact that they were being spent on Greek mercenaries. The demotic tetradrachms of the victorious Artaxerxes III, also used on mercenaries, seem to be a direct response to the coins of Nektanebo, but identify the Great King as the legitimate pharaoh.
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| Realized $8,555 |
