Cypriot Siglos silver coin from Salamis ( King Evelthon's successor): Archaic II (535/525-500 BC)

Silver Siglos coin from Salamis (King Evelthon’s successor) Archaic II (535/525-500BC)

Recumbent ram facing left; Cypriot script 'e-u-we-le-to-to-se' in retrograde within beaded circle. On the reverse: an Ankh, on which inscribed Cypriot character 'ku'; [normally rose buds in lower corners], spray of three leaves in upper corners; all within incuse square. 11.30g weight , 21mm, 5h. Described as “Extremely Fine; two minor metal voids; attractive old cabinet tone.

Silver 1 Siglos coin, issued in the name of King Evelthon (Euelthon)(c 560-535BC or 569-525BC from another source), king of Salamis, the first ruler in Cyprus to issue coins. On this coin his name is in the genitive (as opposed to the coins with blank reverse which are in the nominative), so this type is believed to have been issued by his immediate successor(s).

Only silver coins were issued and ranged from 1 Siglos, through 1/3 and 1/6 to the tiny 1/12 Stater (see my collection) and 1/24.  Since value was by weight the 1/12 stater is about 1/12th the weight of the Siglos. The c11gm weight is derived from the earlier Lydian coins which Persia continued to produce for a while. The first coins issued by Persia were half the weight and probably issued just after the first Salamis Sigloi. Siglos is the Persian name, the Greek name, used by the coin market, is Stater.

Evelthon's earliest coins had recumbent ram or ram's head with a blank reverse (as in my 1/12 Siglos coin).  Later, probably after his death, they were given a reverse with the ancient sign of the Ankh.

Salamis was the leading kingdom in Cyprus in the Archaic and Classical periods. Most of the other 10 kingdoms also issued coins slightly later, at the start of the classical period.

The ankh is an ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic symbol that was most commonly used in writing and in Egyptian art to represent the word for "life" and, by extension, as a symbol of life itself. The Eteo-Cypriot writing was syllabic (a letter represented a syllable, not a single sound) and was derived from Cretan Linear A (as was the Mycenaean Linear B).  Later Cyprus changed to using the Greek alphabet (except Kition - now Larnaca - which for a while used the Phoenician characters).  Ancient EteoCypriot was a completely different Language from Greek and has yet to be translated.  During an intermediate period in Cyprus the ancient script was used to write Greek.

References: BMC 14; Traité 934; SNG Copenhagen.

Most coins auctioned have no provenance so this is a bit better than usual. Though the previous owner is not named, I have ascertained that the director of the auction house knows him personally.

Size: 21mm, 11.3gm

(From the collection of an antiquarian, Bavaria, collected 1960s-1990s)

(Acquired Roma Numismatics Auction XVIII, 29th September 2019 lot 665)

DJ 164 Annex 145