A silver 1/8 shekel of Sidon, dated to 365–352 BC and struck during the reign of King Abdashtart I, was issued at a time when the Phoenician cities formed part of the Achaemenid Empire while retaining considerable internal autonomy and their own minting systems.
Sidon, one of the foremost cities of Phoenicia, is extensively attested in ancient sources, including Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus, as a major maritime power and a key commercial center of the eastern Mediterranean. Its coinage of the 4th century BC is among the best documented within the Phoenician world.
The obverse depicts a war galley, a clear reference to Sidon’s naval strength and its role within the Persian fleet. The reverse shows the king standing right, slaying a lion—an image well known in Near Eastern art and associated with royal ideology, emphasizing strength and legitimate authority.
Greece
Pheonicia, Sidon, Abdashtart I, 1/8 Shekel, 365-352 BC
Obverse: war-galley
Reverse: king standing right, about to slay a lion
Diameter 10 mm, weight 0.69 g
