Portrait of Tissaphernes?

386, Lot: 275. Estimate $500. Sold for $450. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

IONIA, Phokaia. Circa 478-387 BC. EL Hekte – Sixth Stater (9.5mm, 2.56 g). Bearded head left (Tissaphernes?), wearing satrapal headdress / Quadripartite incuse square. Bodenstedt Em. 86; Winzer 6.6. Good VF, lightly toned, compact flan. Rare.

The identity of the individual on the obverse of this issue is uncertain, though both Bodenstedt and Winzer name Tissaphernes. A number of satraps issued coinage in their own name with their portraits, and researchers have attempted to draw parallels between those portraits and that on the present coinage, though none have been conclusive. As there is no evidence confirming the mint and date of origin of this coinage, any identification is little more than speculation.