Ancient Archaic Period - 420-375 BC Achaemenid Persian Empire AV Daric NGC AU

Achaemenid Empire

5^th-4^th Century BC

AV Daric (8.33 g)

Obv. Hero-king with bow & spear

Rev. incuse punch

This coin is a Persian Daric, a gold coin which, along with the silver Siglos, represents the bimetal coinage of its era. Cyrus the Great introduced coins to the Persian Empire after 546 BC. It was Darius I (521-486 BC) who introduced a thick gold coin with a standard weight of 8.4 grams that equaled the value of 20 silver coins. The Daric presents an image of the Persian king holding a bow in his left hand and a spear in his right. He appears to be wearing a crown upon his head. The gold employed for striking these coins was high grade: it had a purity of 95.83 percent.

The coin is mentioned in the Jewish bible, in which it is called the “adarkonim” when the Israelites had contact with it when their Babylonian captors were conquered by Persia. It is mentioned in the first Book of Chronicles when King David asks a group of people to make donation for construction of the Temple. Those people gave generously and included “ten thousands darics of gold” in their donations. It is also mentioned in Ezra 8:27. Also, a derivative Greek word, “darkemonium,” is used in Ezra 2:69 and three times in Nehemiah &:70-72.

According to Encyclopaedia Iranica, “The ancient Greeks believed that the term dareikós [Greek for Daric] was derived from the name of Darius the Great, who was believed to have introduced these coins. For example, Herodotus reported that Darius had struck coins of pure gold. On the other hand, modern scholars have generally supposed that the Greek term dareikós can be traced back to Old Persian *dari- “golden” and that it was first associated with the name of Darius only in later folk etymology…”

The Achaemenid kings left documentary evidence of the origin and usage of gold during their rule. Wrote Herodotus (Histories 3.94-102), those kings acquired gold tribute from India. They also received gifts or tribute of gold from Lydia, Ethiopia, Libya, and Thrace. The gold was used to strike coins such as the Daric, as well as to create weapons, ornaments, furniture, and vessels. Overall, very little Persian gold has been discovered archeologically in well-provenanced finds within Persia, with exceptions being discoveries at Susa and Pasargadae.

The Achaemenid Empire (c. 550-330 BC), also known as the First Persian Empire, was located in Western Asia and founded by Cyrus the Great. The Achaemenid Empire was larger than any other empire in history before it, and totaled 5.5 million square kilometers. It is noted in history as the adversary of Greek city-states during the period of Greco-Persian Wars, as well as for the liberation of Jewish exiles in Babylon. The influence of the Achaemenid Empire was seen well beyond its borders, and was found in cultural, social, technological, and religious spheres. The significant impact of Cyrus’s edict is mentioned in several Judeo-Christian texts, including the Jewish bible. The empire was important in the spread of Zoroastrianism as far east as China. The Achaemenids also were the basis of the history, politics, and heritage of modern day Iran.