Phoenicia, Sidon. Time of Baalshallim I-Ba’ana. Silver 1/2 Shekel (6.32 g), ca. 425-402 BC. City wall with four towers before which a Phoenician galley left; below, two lions leaping in opposite directions. Reverse: Persian king or hero standing right, holding dagger and grasping mane of lion held before him; all within incuse square. Elayi & Elayi grp. III.2; Betlyon 9; HGC 10, -. Struck on a slightly porous flan, but quite sharp. Original find patina. Very Fine. Estimated Value $300 - UP
This type can only be attributed to the period from the reign of Baalshallim I to that of Ba'ana (ca. 425-402 BC) because it lacks the usual abbreviated Phoenician legend used to identify the specific issuer. The obverse depicts a Phoenician galley before the walls of a fortified city, probably intended to represent Sidon. The reverse shows a battle between a heroic figure in Persian royal costume and a lion. There is some controversy over whether the heroic figure represents a local Phoenician deity with iconography borrowed from Persia - Phoenician iconography was eclectic in its adoption of the contemporary iconography from other neighboring Near Eastern states and from Egypt - or whether it is simply meant to represent the Persian Great King in heroic poise as the Phoenician kings were compelled to recognize him as their overlord.