Christmas Coin #1 Phoenicia Sidon Ba'alshillem II 401-366 BC, 1/16 SHEKEL

Phoenicia Sidon Ba'alshillem II 401-366 BC, 1/16 AR Shekel, .46g

OBV: Galley left above waves "9"=B above

REV: Persian king standing right slaying a lion standing left "O" between

REF: HGC 240

My father gave me a gift today for Christmas, $100. Very happy about it and I told him I'm getting some coins with it and he said he knows. lol

Another thing is that I took part in a trivia a few times at Aegean Numismatics on Facebook and won some store credit that I am using with this order. I won a total of three times, one time I used some credit for the one Roman Republic semis and Byzantine Pentanummium I posted a few weeks ago. I spent almost the entire $100 along with my prize credit, making it even better. I'm getting 4 fairly decent coins as you'll see soon. This Phoenician 1/16 AR shekel is the first one.

I know very little about this coin until recently. I also don't have the reference book for whatever is HGC. Feel free to post a Phoenician coin or any that have a galley if you like. More information about this coin is also welcome.

Merry Christmas all.

 

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cool GG, and merry christmas 2 u!

my father also picked me up a coin for christmas....indirectly.

i don't have a phoenican.

but here's a galley on a 3rd century bc republican semuncia.

 

Gil, I had this coin on my watch list for a while because it was a damn good price for the amount of detail you get on it. An excellent choice in my opinion!

HGC refers to the Handbook of Greek Coins by Oliver Hoover, published by CNG. This coin is in Volume 10, which is comprised of coins of the Southern Levant and Arabia.

 

Oops, did not know you wanted it. But yeah, I saw this and for the price, the coin was calling me even though it's off my collection radar.

Thanks for the reference name, much appreciated.

 

I didn't want it, I just thought it was a really good buy. I was busy adding coins to other collections.

 

That coin is only mildly phat....just jokes...great pickup.

 

Ya, you snooze you lose JA, i know now, i miss some great turtles, i like turtles, Gil awesome new coin, the galley coins are awesome too!!! Merry Christmas to you!!!!

 

Wow Gil-galad (Daryl), that coin rocks (your dad nailed it this year!!) ... I love that coin!!

I also have a very cool Phoenicia AR 1/16 Shekel (my version is from Byblos)

Both of our coins are uber-cool (congrats on having a Pa with cool taste!!)

Phoenicia, Byblos King Uzzibaal AR 1/16 Shekel
Date: 365-350 BC
Size: 11.03 mm
Weight: 0.76 grams
Obverse: two hoplites with shields in war galley sailing left (roaring lion’s head on prow), hippocamp swimming left below (N O in field)
Reverse: Phoenician inscription; Lion attacking bull, left

 

Well, he gave me the money and I picked the coins. He has yet to see them and he will later on. He's like a lot of family members that ain't too interested in coins period. lol

That's a very nice coin from Phoenicia Byblos for sure. I think I'll look for that one someday from a wish list.

 

This ancient coin had been subject to contest. I'm referring to Gil's coin up. The question is to determine whether this coin is Persian or purely Phoenician? In fact, during that period of the Persian rule in the fourth century BC, and before Alexander the Great defeated the Persians in 333 BC, The Sidonians had revolted against the Persian king Artaxerxes. It is presumed that the people of Sidon had managed during their revolt to struck 2000 coins including Gil's coin... These coins could be purely Phoenician and not Persian. The King slaying the lion could be the Phoenician king, whereas the lion is the symbol of the Persian despot that is slain. The Phoenician king could be Baal Shillem the Second. As for the letter O between the king and the lion , it is a very common Phoenician letter or consonant. Remember that the Phoenicians who invented the Alphabet had no vowels at first. I think the name of Astarte begins with this Phoenician letter. Of course, I did not invent all these info. In case they come true, that would be a turning point in the History of ancient Numismatics. BTW, Dougsmit tends to believe in this amazing theory.
Charles

 

Always good to get cash as gift and in this case its ancient cash.

 

Very cool! I'd love to have a few

 

Mine is similar with different letters on both sides.

 

That's some interesting information to know, Calbrey. Hopefully, Doug will have something to say about this coin to verify what you said.

Thanks guys for the comments.

 

Well, speak of the devil, there he is. Didn't think he would post this fast. Nice coin, Doug.

 

When I posted this coin, over 7 months ago, our great friend Doug referred to a precious book and a detailed professional article in the French daily " Le Monde".They both tackle this important issue from 2 different points of view. One says the coin is Persian and the other says it's Phoenician. Debate is probably going on.. Here is my coin again Gil. I'm afraid it's starting to fade after 2400 years.

 

I love this type of coin and have it on my hit list. The reverse looks like a Three Stooges fight scene. Nyuk nyuk nyuk

 

We have similar situations elsewhere with the Persians. The common running archer/king coins were called Lydian once. I believe the Persians conquered a lot of lands so coins might be Phoenician under the Persians. I thought I recalled this one being attributed to those 'lions' who were fighting the Persians but I do not recall what I reported finding in the past as well as some people here. I certainly agree that you will find discussions that do not agree on such things but you will have to weigh evidence and decide what you choose to believe. To me, today, this coin is Phoenician but there might be other views.

 

Of course, there are reasons for you Master DS to believe that this coin is " today " Phoenician. I remember you saying that neither before nor after the Phoenician revolt did the Persians issue such a coin in dimension, form or even weight. I'm just focusing on this matter because it could be considered as a shift in the History of ancient Numismatics. Anyway, the number 2000 coins in different sizes or denominations was not invented by myself but rather remains still there in the study which was provided to me by DS. Maybe the Phoenicians of Sidon wanted to express or declare their independence by issuing these coins.
Merry Christmas
Charles

 

I just looked this coin up in HGC, and #240 is indeed a 1/16th Shekel of the same type, but the 1/16th Shekels are recorded at around 0.8g, or roughly twice the weight of your coin. Hoover records a 1/32nd Shekel, at c. 0.4g, but it is of a different type - galley, running king shooting bow and arrow.

HGC is by no means exhaustive, however. It is a handbook after all. But this attribution is not quite correct. I would reference it as a 1/32 Shekel, cf. HGC 10, 240 (same type as 1/16 Shekel). Probably this type is recorded somewhere in the smaller denomination, and that bears some investigation.