Obverse: Laureate Head of Apollo
Reverse: Zeus Labraundos Standing Holding a
Labrys and a Spear
Caria is a region of southwestern Asia Minor, in
modern day Turkey. The capital city was
Halicarnassus, famed home of one of the Seven
Wonders of the Ancient World: the Mausoleum of
Halicarnassus. Pixodaros was a satrap of Persian
controlled Caria who is historically noted for his
ambitious plans to marry off his daughter to one
of King Phillip II of Macedon’s sons, Arrhidaeus.
Another of Phillip’s sons, Alexander, sent an
envoy to Caria in order to suggest to Pixodaros
that he should be the one to marry his daughter,
not his foolish bastard brother. However, this
plan was never actualized and Phillip berated
Alexander for wanting a father-in-law who was
a Carian and slave to a barbarian king.
How many hands have touched a coin in your
pocket or your purse? What eras and lands have
the coin traversed on its journey into our
possession? As we reach into our pockets to pull
out some change, we rarely hesitate to think of
who touched the coin before us, or where the
coin will venture to after us. More than money,
coins are a symbol of the state that struck them,
of a specific time and place, whether currency in
the age we live or an artifact of a long forgotten
empire. This stunning hand-struck coin reveals
an expertise of craftsmanship and intricate
sculptural detail that is often lacking in
contemporary machine-made currencies. This
coin is more than an artifact; it is a concrete
remnant of an ancient empire passed from the
hands of civilization to civilization, from
generation to generation.
- (C.2066)
|
