Islamic Silver Imitating Athenian Owl (poorly)

Can I get information on this coin which is similar width to a Tetradrachm?

Only have one side at the moment and obviously interested in value. Thanks.....Marbury

 

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What does it weigh?

The inscription lettering is reminiscent of late 1st century BC Indo-Scythian tetradrachms usage of Kharoshthi script. However, the metal and surface looks odd.

It may be a Himyarite imitation of Athenian tets. About which....

...1. Scroll to the very bottom of this excellent web page:
https://rg.ancients.info/owls/imitations.html

...2. Note that on the above web page in regards to the Himyarite Athenian owl imitations, it says this: "These coins appear frequently on the market, and given the documentation of a large number of modern cast fakes in the Bulletin on Counterfeits Vol. 18 No. 1 (1993), it probably makes sense to buy from a safer source."

...3. See these two coins:
https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=1222847
https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=3797043

 

JUST FOUND THIS.

https://rg.ancients.info/owls/imita...tchiner 1325, Sayles VI p. 125, Head (1878) 7.

 

Your coin is a very nice example of a Himyarite silver drachm, or possibly a fractional. The coin's weight will determine that. It is pre-Islamic, dating to the first century BC, and comes from what is Yemen today. The reverse is patterned after the Athenian new style owl coinage of the second to first centuries BC. Here's an example:

Attica, Athens, new style tetradrachm, 133/2 BC.
Thompson 380.c
17.02 grams



There are imitation tetradrachms that were produced in Arabia. The Athenian tetradrachm was the mainstay coinage that dominated trade in the eastern Mediterranean for nearly four hundred years. They were produced even during the period of dominance by the tetradrachms of Alexander III and his successors.

Here are some Arabian owls:

South Arabia, Qataban Kingdom, South Arabia, tetradrachm, imitating Athens, 4th-3rd centuries BC.
16.9 grams



South Arabia, Qataban Kingdom, didrachm, "k" (South Arabian) on cheek, circa 350-300 BC.
7.08 grams


Arabia Felix, Sabean drachm, 4th century BC.
NG ANS 1455 var.
4.61 grams


Northern Arabia, Lihyan Kingdom, AE owl, 2nd-1st centuries BC.
12.70 grams

 

It's Arab, but not Islamic.