Two more owls arrived today, one countermarked in the Levant and the other likely from Philistia

Two more tetradrachms came in today, one long overdue from Germany and the other very rapidly from Tennessee.

The owl from Germany is a classical mass production type. The interesting feature of this coin, and the reason I purchased it, is the clear countermark on the obverse, which I believe is a Paleo-Hebrew waw.



Or, it could be an Sabean (South Arabian) "H".




17.3 grams




The second coin is, I believe, from Philistia, or the surrounding region. It came in a NGC slab with a description attributing the coin as coming from Athens, which it is clearly not. This is not high grade and there are test cuts on the reverse. However, there is a clear Aramaic nun on the obverse, which is not a counterstamp, but instead engraved in the die.



17.2 grams



Stylistically this owl must have been an earlier emission of the classical imitative types, given its reasonably close resemblance to the Athenian owls. Still, there are clear deviations, such as the hairline, nose and lips (very separated) of Athens. The owl, as well, although obscured in good part by a test cut is different, as well as the ethnic, with its very thin, stick-like letters. The flan itself has a different appearance compared to what one would expect for an Athenian owl, with a squarish shape and an extended part giving it an almost balloon-like form.

Since I am not by any means an authority on Paleo-Hebrew or Aramaic script, any suggestions or corrections would be very helpful.

I am especially uncertain about the countermark on the first coin.

Thanks

 

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great looking owls!

 

Thank you.

It's always fun to locate owls that are out of the ordinary, even if they do have issues. The subject of how they circulated and were copied has become an area of concentration for me. The scholarship in this area is still evolving as hoards show up and new coins come to the marketplace.