PERSIA, Achaemenid Empire. temp. Artaxerxes III to Darios III. Circa 350-333 BC. AR Tetradrachm (23.5mm, 13.25 g). Chian standard. Uncertain mint in western Asia Minor (Ionia or Sardes?). Persian king, wearing kidaris and kandys, in kneeling-running stance right, holding spear in right hand, bow in left / Incuse rectangle, containing pattern possibly depicting relief map of the hinterland of Ephesos. Johnston, Earliest 33; Meadows, Administration 328; Mildenberg, Münzwesen pp. 25–6 and pl. XII, 110; Pitchfork 11 (this coin). Toned, traces of find patina, rough surfaces, some scratches. Good Fine. From the Colin E. Pitchfork Collection. Ex Vecchi 15 (15 June 1999), lot 476.Johnston has interpreted this remarkable reverse design as a relief map of the hinterland of Ephesos, which would make it the earliest Greek map and first physical relief map known. On the right (north) are the mountains Tmolos and Messogis between the river valleys of the Caÿster and Maeander, to the left of which are three mountain ridges (Madranbaba Dagi, Karincali Dagi, and Akaba Tepesi). Johnston follows Six in suggesting that the coins were probably struck under the Persian general Memnon at Ephesos, circa 336-334 BC, in order to pay his army after he had captured the city, but before his defeat by Alexander at the Battle of Granicus in 334. However, Johnston’s map theory has been the subject of some doubt, most notably by Leo Mildenberg. Closing Date and Time: 21 January 2026 at 12:36:40 ET.Winning bids are subject to a 22.5% buyers fee for bids placed on this website, 25% for all others.
