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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;robinjojo, post: 8055254, member: 110226&quot;]Yes, that is the coin.&nbsp; It is a bit of a gamble, at least in terms of the exact mint, which is unresolved and might remain so for quite a while.</p><p><br /></p><p>I have examined the photos and compared this coin&#039;s two obverse character marks many times over the period preceding the auction.&nbsp; I also have several other imitative owls, mostly pharaonic, but others from Bactria, Parthenia, Arabia and&nbsp; &quot;Eastern Mint&quot; (attributed to a much wider region).&nbsp; The marks are intentional and apparently hand engraved into the die, in the same way as Lot 667, the preceding coin.</p><p><br /></p><p>Here&#039;s my take.&nbsp; I am not an authority on ancient alphabets and languages, so I rely on what I can refer to on Google.</p><p><br /></p><p>The mark on the neck guard is clearly engraved in a distinct form that resembles an Aramaic waw or zain.&nbsp; The marks (yes, I think there are two) on the lower cheek are a resh that was engraved over another character, which is hard to decipher.&nbsp; There is an arm pointing to the right, which could be a sadhe character.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1395517[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>You have much more knowledge in this area, so I&nbsp; am really interested in your take.</p><p><br /></p><p>As mentioned in the description of lot 667, these marks may or may not refer to a particular mint.&nbsp; I am inclined to think these character marks as die control marks of some sort, or perhaps engraver&#039;s initials?</p><p><br /></p><p>Also, note that lot 679 did not receive any bids.&nbsp; I am not sure what other potential bidders were considering, but I am not sure if the character or symbol on the obverse was applied to the die or is a counterstamp.&nbsp; I am leaning towards the latter, due to the appearance of a lower, or depressed area that is the result of a die applied to the coin after production.</p><p><br /></p><p>Edit:&nbsp; I did get confirmation for lot 668, so here, again is the Roma photo for reference:</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/image00678-jpg.1395276/" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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