Obverse: The God Ba’altars Enthroned Facing Lef
Reverse: A Lion Advancing Towards the Lef
Cilicia is an ancient region of southeastern Asia Minor (modern Turkey), along the Mediterranean north of Cyprus. It included a high and barren plateau, Cilicia Trachia, an inhospitable region that served as shelter for pirates, and a richly fertile plain, Cilicia Pedias, that served as a strategic passageway throughout history. The area was under the domination of the Assyrian Empire before it became part of the Persian Empire. The Greeks settled on the coast early on, and Cilicia was Hellenized to a great extent.

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 contemporary currencies or artifacts of long forgotten empires. 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 a memorial an ancient city and leader passed from the hands of civilization to civilization, from generation to generation.