L'or des rois de Chypre

During the fourth century B.C. certain Cypriot kings, for instance Evagoras Ist of Salamis, issued gold coins. This is a remarkable phenomenon because the issuing of gold coins was rare before the gold staters of Philip II of Macedon, with the exception of the gold darics of the Great King of Persia.

Which Cypriot kings  issued gold coins? In which kingdoms? When and why? What are the sources of gold? Are these issues regular? Which weight-standard was adopted and what were the exchange rates between gold and silver coins? Where did those gold coins circulate and, finally, what do those coins reveal for both the political and the economic history of Cyprus?

These are only some of the questions addressed in the present book through a) the coin catalogue of the Cypriote gold coinages organised by dies, b) the analysis of their metrology and metallurgical composition and c) the combination of the numismatic with the textual and archaeological sources. The study illuminates the history of Cyprus through the economic policy of  its kings  from the classical period to the demolition of the autonomous kingdoms by Ptolemy I.