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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;John Anthony, post: 1945721, member: 42773&quot;]Here&#039;s a coin I first spotted two years ago, but at the time, I didn&#039;t have the opportunity to acquire it. I was delighted to find it back on the market recently, and didn&#039;t waste any time snatching it up.</p><p><br /></p><p>In my opinion it represents the best of a very rare type, minted only for a period of several months in 9 BC. Syllaeus was a powerful and crafty minister during the reign of Obodas II (30 - 9 BC), and sought to usurp the throne from its rightful heir, Aretas IV. However, owing to his treachery against Rome in a truly stupendous and colossal feat of misdirection, Syllaeus was executed before his ambitions could be realized.</p><p><br /></p><p>(Strabo&#039;s account of the affair is a compelling read, and I plan to post it later in this thread, along with a map I&#039;m currently composing that traces the misadventure.)</p><p><br /></p><p>Upon the death of Obodas II, Syllaeus took possession of the treasury at Petra, and began minting a few coins of his own. His political position, however, put him rather between a rock and a hard place. He did not want to acknowledge Aretas IV&#039;s rightful claim to the throne, but neither did he wish to place his portrait on the coinage. Caesar considered himself the final arbiter of Nabataean kings, and whether he was or not, Syllaeus needed Rome&#039;s approval to consolidate his powers as a usurper.</p><p><br /></p><p>So what we find on these rare issues is a bust of Obodas II and the letter <i>shin</i>, for Syllaeus. I have not come across a finer portrait of Obodas on any Nabataean bronzes. One finds the better portraits of Obodas on the silver drachms. Neither have I come across a finer example of this particular type, better than the plate coins in both Meshorer and Schmitt-Korte.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Nabataean Kingdom, Syllaeus and Aretas IV</b></p><p><b>AE 16, 2.38g, Petra mint, 9 BC</b></p><p><b>&nbsp;<i>Obverse:</i> diademed head of Obodas II; <i>shin</i> in left field</b></p><p><b><i>Reverse</i>: crossed cornucopiae; <i>shin</i> in left field</b></p><p><b>Reference: K. Schmitt-Korte II, p. 113, 26; Meshorer Nabataean 43 var (no left heth on rev); SNG ANS 1426 var (same)</b></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]338718[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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