Dear friends of
Nabataean coins!
I recently fished this coin out of the bay:
Obv.: Laureated
bust of
Aretas IV to the right, behind him ח , under the chin o
Rev.: 2 crossed
cornucopiae with large pomegranates hanging down to the center; in the center פצ (from r. to l. PS, for Phasael)
Ref:
This coin seems to be
rare, because I have not found it anywhere, not even in
Barkay.
Meshorer describes a similar
rev. under No. 67 "2 crossed
cornucopiae with large or small pomegranates hanging down to the center, sometimes without pomegranates". In the center, however, is not פצ, but
monogram 4.
And the
obverse, like no. 56, is "Laureate
bust of
Aretas IV; in the
field, o"
Here, however, it is the
obverse of no. 64: "like no. 56; in the
field ח o". However, no. 64 does not have the hanging pomegranates in the center.
So here we have the
obverse of No. 64 and a variant of No. 67 on the
reverse.
What should we call it? One could call it No. 64
var. or No. 67
var. But since the drooping pomegrantes are so prominent, I tend to
Meshorer No. 67
var.
Best regards
Jochen