ARABIA FELIX. Sabaeans(?). Imitating Athens. Ca. 3rd-2nd centuries BC. AR quarter-unit (10mm, 6h). NGC Choice XF. Head of Athena right, wearing an Attic helmet, X (mark of value) on cheek / AΘE, owl standing right, head facing; olive spring and small crescent moon behind, complex monogram or symbol in inner right field. HGC 10, 735. Munro-Hay 1.1iii. SNG ANS 1460. The Kingdom of Saba' and its capital city Mariaba, located in modern Yemen, evolved around the bustling caravan routes carrying cargoes of incense, cinnamon, myrrh, gums, and spices from the Red Sea up to the Levant. To capitalize on this lucrative trade, the South Arabian kingdoms innovated the use of coinage as a mechanism to levy taxes and tolls on the caravans traversing their territories. Most of their early coinage were imitations of the Athenian tetradrachm, reflecting the wide-reaching influence of the Greek city-states. These coins frequently featured a unique monogram inscribed in the Old South Arabian alphabet, a script that would eventually spread across the Red Sea to the Horn of Africa and evolve into the Ge'ez language in Eritrea and Ethiopia: these South Arabian imitative tetradrachms no doubt influenced Axumite coinage several centuries later. HID09801242017 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

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