This coin is a very recent acquisition, and since it has a reverse rooted the central design used on the Athenian new style tetradrachms, it was a natural fit for the collection of imitations. Here's the coin's condition on arrival: As can easily see there's plenty of horn silver and some corroded surfaces, something that I have see with other examples from this region. The original weight was 4.31 grams. I concentrated on cleaning the obverse. What appeared seems to be jugate portraits on the obverse, something I have not seen before, but my experience with this issue is strictly limited. Here's the coin now, and I do not intend to engage in any further cleaning. There is still some horn silver, but one needs to know when to apply the breaks. The coin now weighs 4.26 grams. South Arabia, Saba, AR unit, 2nd-1st century BC. Obverse: Two jugate portraits facing right, surrounded by a laurel border. Reverse: Facing owl, standing on an amphora, surrounded by South Arabian characters and a decorative border. Do think those are jugate portraits on the obverse? Also, does anyone have reference/catalog information for this variety? Thanks!
@romismatist I also believe it is double-struck. It seems to be Himyarite. For SIMILAR types, see... https://www.acsearch.info/search.ht...de=1&fr=1&it=1&es=1&ot=1¤cy=usd&order=1
Thanks. I was considering a die shift as a possibility, but due to the differences between the two portraits I didn't think that it was in fact a die shift. I guess it is, so I appreciate the help.
The two profiles are not so different, I think they are the same. And for jugate profiles, there is never a profile above the other one, they are always on the same level: for me it is a double strike. Nice interesting coin...
