Judaea, Yehud (Judah). Silver Gerah (0.49 g), ca. 375-332 BCE. Head of Athena right, wearing Attic helmet decorated with olive wreath. Reverse: 'YHD' (Yehud; retrograde), owl standing left, head facing; in upper right field, olive spray. Hendin 1051; TJC 5. Very Fine. Estimated Value $250 - UP
This coin closely imitates the Athena and owl types of contemporary Athenian coinage, but depicts the owl standing left and the olive spray to right in contrast to the usual right-facing bird and olive spray in the upper left corner. This reversal suggests that the reverse die was produced by an inexperienced engraver who failed to cut the mirror image of the intended final design. He has also erroneously cut the legend so that it appears retrograde on the coin.