The kingdom of Lapethos, situated on the north coast, is mentioned only rarely in literary sources, and then only as part of episodes that took place following the death of Alexander the Great, when its king was Praxippos. The coins are therefore especially valuable as indicators of the succession of kings from the early fifth century onwards.
Early coinage
The earliest coins of Lapethos are uninscribed shekels with a head of Athena wearing a crested Corinthian helmet on the obverse and on the reverse, either Herakles kneeling or a bearded head of the same hero. The attribution of these coins to Lapethos is based on the fact that the same types appear on later coins bearing the names of kings of Lapethos. The first such king is Demonikos I, whose name is written in Phoenician letters on the reverse of shekels with a head of Athena on both obverse and reverse. He reigned about 500, and a recently discovered issue, with the same types, reveals the name of another king, Ba'alzakor, who must have reigned not long after, in the first half of the fifth century.
Sidqimilk and his successors
The following king, Sidqimilk, ruled before the middle of the fifth century. He is known from an exceptional issue showing on the obverse a head of Athena wearing a Corinthian helmet and the legend in Phoenician letters, 'of Sidqimilk, king of Lapethos' (This is one of the rare cases in Cyprus where the names of the king and of the kingdom appear together). On the reverse we find a facing head of Athena wearing a helmet decorated with two bull's horns and two bull's ears and the legend, again in Phoenician letters, 'Sidqimilk'. After the reign of Sidqimilk, hoard evidence attests the circulation in the area of the kingdom of Lapethos of coins on Cypriote weight standard having the head of Athena in crested Corinthian helmet on the obverse and the head of a bearded Herakles wearing a lion's skin on the reverse. These coins belong in the last quarter of the fifth century, but since they bear no legend they cannot be assigned to any specific king(s).
The next known king, Andr (-), is represented by an exceptional issue discovered in a hoard found at Vouni. On the obverse Athena stands wearing a tunic and peplos, holding a spear in her right hand and a round shield in her left; on the reverse Herakles walks to the right, holding a club and bow, and the legend in Phoenician letters reads 'of king Andr- (king of) Lapethos'.
Coins with the same types, attesting the name of his successor Demonikos II, were also found in the same hoard. Either or both of these kings issued fractions with the same types, but the precise attribution is uncertain since they bear no legend. The reigns of these two kings span the last years of the fifth century and the early years of the fourth. It was either Demonikos II or perhaps a third Demonikos in the dynasty of Lapethos who issued coins with the same types, and for the first time in this kingdom the obverse legend in Greek letters: BA and DH (the first two letters of the king's name).
The last king of Lapethos, Praxippos, most probably issued bronze coins inscribed on both sides with Greek letters: on the obverse PR (the first two letters of the king's name) with a head of Apollo, on the reverse BA (the first two letters of the Greek word for 'king') with a two-handled krater.