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| Davissons, Ltd. > Auction 45 | Auction date: 25 March 2026 |
| Lot number: 144 Price realized: 25,000 USD (Approx. 21,608 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | Show similar lots on CoinArchives Find similar lots in upcoming auctions on  |
| Lot description: PHOENICIA. Sidon. Straton I. Circa 365-352 B.C. AR dishekel or double shekel. 25.49 gm. 27 mm. Uncertain year. Phoenician war galley under way to left over zig-zag waves; figure at prow, standard at stern / Persian king and his driver in chariot left; behind, king of Sidon in Egyptian style garments, holding cultic scepter and votive vase, walking left; 'B (in Phoenician) above. E&E-S Series IV.2.1.o, 1359-1367 (D43/R31). Betlyon 23. HGC 10, 242. Near Extremely Fine; old collection tone; well centered and sharply struck on an even, full round flan; superficial flan flaw and die breaks on reverse. Exceptional example; an extreme rarity within the series by virtue of condition, and very appealing and impressive in hand. The Peter Bartlett Collection. Ex UBS 56 (28 January 2003) lot 155 (Baalshallim II). The dishekels of Sidon are nearly uniformly poorly struck, or heavily worn, or both. This is an exceptional example on all counts. 'Abd'astart (Straton) I was a complex figure caught between East and West, honouring Sidon's allegiance to the Persian Great King Artaxerxes II on the one hand, and yet personally drawn to Greek culture. Early in his reign he guaranteed safe passage for an Athenian embassy to Artaxerxes, and in return was honoured with a decree set in marble on the Acropolis and received favourable trading rights and tax exemptions in Athens. He was looked on as a philhellene and lavished patronage on Greek artists and musicians from the cities of Ionia and the Peloponnesos in his court. He led the Sidonian revolt against Persian overlordship in 356 B.C. which was suppressed the following year. He was forced to surrender, and all of Phoenicia was placed under the Persian agent Mazaios. His final years between 355 and 352 appear to have been difficult, and ancient sources suggest he suffered a sudden and violent death. Estimate: 7500 USD |  |
