★ An unpublished Samarian obol ★

SAMARIA. Circa 375-333 BC. Obol (Silver, 10 mm, 0.80 g, 5 h). Facing head of an owl. Rev. [A]Θ[E] Owl standing right, head facing; to left, olive sprig and crescent (?); all within incuse square. Cf. Baldwin's 34 (2003), 462 corr. (differing reverse type, but misattributed to Cilicia). Meshorer & Qedar -. Sofaer -. Apparently unpublished and unique. A highly interesting and very charming type. Somewhat rough, otherwise, good very fine.

The obverse of this beautiful little coin copies the facing owl from a very rare Cypriote stater, where an almost identical head of an owl appears as a symbol below a standing bull (M. Amandry: Acquisitions récentes de monnaies chypriotes au Cabinet des Médailles, in: Cahiers du Centre d’Études Chypriotes 17 (1992), pp. 20-21 and pl. II, 5-6). The reverse, on the other hand, plainly imitates the classical Athenian owls. Such borrowing of foreign types is typical for the early Samarian coinage; in fact, the related obol sold by Baldwin's in 2003 combines the Cypriote obverse with a Cilician facing head of Bes.