Ira and Larry Goldberg Auctioneers
Auction 106 4-5 Sep 2018
View prices realized
► Sale information
Find similar lots
Phoenicia, Tyre. Silver Double Shekel (13.38 g), ca. 435-425 BC. Dolphin right above triple waves; below, murex shell; above, inscription: "one-thirtieth" of a mina. Reverse: Owl (in the shape of the hieroglyphic sign 'M') standing right, head facing, crook and flail over shoulder, recessed outline following the contours of the design, the whole within shallow incuse square. Elayi & Elayi 58 (O10/R17) = Elayi, NAC 21 (1992), pp. 39 and 47, no. 26 (this coin); ACGC 1048; Traité pl. CXXII, 1. Attractive old cabinet toning. Wonderful archaic style. An outstanding coin! Choice Very Fine. Estimate Value $2,500 - UP
From the Lee Rousseau Collection.
The Orientalizing nature of the designs are here strongly evident. The dolphin over waves was a popular design element in Greek coinage and can been found as far afield as on the coinage of the Spartan colony of Taras in Magna Graecia as well as the Greek port-city of Kyzikos in north-western Asia Minor. The owl on the reverse was surely inspired by the prolific coinage of Athens, yet here with the crook and flail is in Egyptian form. Also of interest is the inscription on the obverse, 'Selosan' ("one thirtieth" [of a mina]). This is one of the very earliest instances of coin bearing an inscription of its value, and may have inspired the later use of marks by the Qatabanians in Arabia.
From the Lee Rousseau Collection.
The Orientalizing nature of the designs are here strongly evident. The dolphin over waves was a popular design element in Greek coinage and can been found as far afield as on the coinage of the Spartan colony of Taras in Magna Graecia as well as the Greek port-city of Kyzikos in north-western Asia Minor. The owl on the reverse was surely inspired by the prolific coinage of Athens, yet here with the crook and flail is in Egyptian form. Also of interest is the inscription on the obverse, 'Selosan' ("one thirtieth" [of a mina]). This is one of the very earliest instances of coin bearing an inscription of its value, and may have inspired the later use of marks by the Qatabanians in Arabia.