Lot 1853
Ionia, Achaemenid Period. Uncertain satrap. Silver Tetradrachm (14.96 g), ca. 35. Persian king in kneeling-running stance right, holding spear and bow. Reverse: Rectangular or ovoid incuse containing pattern possibly depicting relief map of the hinterland of Ephesos. Johnston 5-17; cf. Meadows 328 (legend on obv.); Mildenberg grp. 6.2, pl. XII, 110; Sunrise 70. Well centered on excellent metal. A bit soft on the head of the king. Nicely toned. Extremely Fine.
Although her interpretation has been contested more recently, Johnston suggested that the unusual design on the reverse represented a bird's-eye view of the river valleys of the Caÿster and Maeander rivers in Ionia, and that the coins were struck at Ephesos to pay for the soldiers under the command of the Persian general, Memnon, shortly before he was defeated by the Macedonian phalanxes under Alexander the Great at the Battle of Granicus in 334 BC. If this interpretation is correct, then the type is the first physical relief map known and the earliest instance of a Greek map. Estimated Value $8,000 - 9,000
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