This coin was given to me. I am making a wild guess that it is Aretas IV, 9 BC-40 AD, King of Nabataea, bronze of 19 mm, 4.23 grams. Obverse: Jugate busts of Aretas and Shuqailait. Reverse: Double cornucopias, the names of the King and Queen in Nabataean between them. I have no idea which way is up for the reverse.
Congrats on the new freebie Ummm, here are two of my Nabob sweeties ... maybe my examples can help you out with your coin-orientation? Nabataean, Aretas IV & Shuqailat, AE17 9 BC - 40 AD Nabobateanen Kingdom, Rabbel II & Gamilat, AE17 70-106 AD
I think 7 o' clock should be the 12 o' clock, but I'm really just guessing too. I think we have a guy here who knows a little bit about these Nabataeans, though. He ought to be around shortly .
It will be interesting to see if JA can narrow it down, but Aretas IV seems like the best guess based on the obverse and the type's abundance.
Slight correction to the attribution in that the legend is not Aramaic, but Nabataean. Derived from the same script though...
It is a common mistake as they look similar. Here is the attribution from one of my coins. Most people will not have Unicode Nabataean fonts, which I have, so I transcribed this coin in both Nabataean and Hebrew (which is used as a substitute in a lot of scholarly journals) ... You can read more about the Nabataean script here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nabataean_alphabet and the differences between the three scripts here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aramaic_alphabet
Cool, I still wouldn't mind getting more. my onlt one from Secret Santa last year. Malichus II & Shuqailat II (40 - 70 A.D.) Nabataean Kingdom Æ Unit O: Jugate busts of Malichus & Shuqailatt right R: Crossed Cornucopia 1. WKLM 2. YQS 3. TL from r. to l. MLKW / SQY / LT = Maliku / Shuqailat 19mm 2.51g SNG X I#I444
These types were issued by Aretas IV, Malichus II, and Rabbel II. The OP coin could be of either Aretas or Malichus - without the reverse inscription it's difficult to tell by bust style. It is not a coin of Rabbel II. When buying these, look for the presence of the TOP line of script on the reverse, as both Aretas and Malichus had queens named Shaqilat.
I have a small handful of Nabataeans, most purchased as a group. My favorite though is this homely Aretas IV. It is the first Nabataean coin acquired by @John Anthony . I can't believe he parted with it. John, have you no sentimentality whatsoever? I have reassured the coin that it is desirable and that I won't kick it out of the house. It cried for days when it first arrived, but now it seems to have made friends and I only hear occasional sobbing from that box. NABATAEA, Aretas IV with Queen Shaqilat 9 BCE - CE 40, Petra AE18 Obv: jugate busts of Aretas IV and Shaqilat right Rev: crossed cornucopia; Nabataean letters between and below Ref: Meshorer 112-114?
The clearest Nabataean legend I have is of queen Gamilat. It reads from right to left, just like all Semitic languages. The obverse shows king Rabel II.
