Welcome To Forum Ancient Coins!!!All Items Purchased From Forum Ancient Coins Are Guaranteed Authentic For Eternity!!!Please Call Us If You Have Questions 252-646-1958 or 252-497-2724Expert Authentication - Accurate Descriptions - Reasonable Prices - Coins From Under $10 To Museum Quality RaritiesWelcome To Forum Ancient Coins!!!All Items Purchased From Forum Ancient Coins Are Guaranteed Authentic For Eternity!!!Internet Challenged? We Are Happy To Take Your Order Over The Phone 252-646-1958Explore Our Website And Find Joy In The History, Numismatics, Art, Mythology, And Geography Of Coins!!!
Western Asiatic, Black Stone Duck Weight (7.736g), Bead, or Amulet, c. Early 1st Millennium B.C.
Carved hematite weights were made in Mesopotamia in from the Old Babylonian period until Neo Babylonian times, c. 1900 - 1600 B.C. Hematite is widely found in Syria and Turkey, but was imported into Mesopotamia because it was not found locally. After about 1600 B.C., weights made in Mesopotamia were carved from a black stone that looks similar but which is not hematite. Similar ducks were also carved in lapis lazuli, agate, carnelian and other stones. Pierced ducks may have been used as beads or amulets.AS111496. cf. Hendin Weights p. 147, 64 (similar, but hematite, 10.29g, 30 giru) and 67 (8.06g, shekel, but hematite and unpierced), Choice, surface chips, 7.736g, 12.6x22.7x14.1mm, c. early 1st Millennium B.C.; reverse carved black stone (not hematite), the form of stylized duck, its head and neck turned back, hugging the body with the head resting flat on the center of the back, pierced crosswise below the neck and head, flat base; ex Collector Antiquities (Dr. Bron Lipkin, London, UK, 2012); $500.00 (€460.00)
Canaanite, Carved Hematite Sphendonoid 5 Shekels Weight (41.049g), Late Bronze Age II, 14th - 13th Century B.C.
Sphendonoid weights are found in excavations from Egypt to Mesopotamia, dating from the Early Bronze Age to as late as the Iron Age. The style originated in Syria or Babylonia, but they are found corresponding to various weight systems including Babylonian, Phoenician, Syrian and Egyptian. This weight was presumably more precisely attributed and dated by the Archaeological Center with the benefit of find information.AS111498. cf. Hendin Weights 11; sphendonoid 5 shekel weight carved from hematite, polished, ellipsoid, Choice, 41.049g, 60.1mm long, 16.2mm diameter, Late Bronze Age II, 14th - 13th Century B.C.; ex Archaeological Center (Robert Deutsch, Tel Aviv, Israel), auction 52 (9 Apr 2012), lot 166 (part of); $500.00 (€460.00)
Judah, Limestone Dome Weight, 4 Shekels (39.751g), c. 800 - 586 B.C.
This is a pre-exile limestone weight from Judah. Lead weights apparently were not used in Jerusalem. Ronny Reich in "Stone Scale Weights of the Late Second Temple Period from the Jewish Quarter," concludes that the Jerusalemites used limestone weights instead of lead for reasons of purity, since in Judaism, according to later rabbinical sources, stone does not acquire impurity.AS111509. Judah, limestone dome weight; cf. Tushingham fig. 78, 27 (42.22g, pink and gray limestone); Hendin Weights 198 (43.82g, grey limestone), Choice, 39.751g, 27.3mm diameter, underweight, pre-exile, 800 - 586 B.C.; carved creamy white limestone, high dome, flat bottom, unmarked; $500.00 (€460.00)
Canaanite, Carved Hematite Sphendonoid Weight, 3 Shekels(24.946g), Late Bronze Age II, 14th - 13th Century B.C.
Sphendonoid weights are found in excavations from Egypt to Mesopotamia, dating from the Early Bronze Age to as late as the Iron Age. The style originated in Syria or Babylonia, but they are found corresponding to various weight systems including Babylonian, Phoenician, Syrian and Egyptian. This weight was presumably more precisely attributed and dated by the Archaeological Center with the benefit of find information.AS111497. cf. Hendin Weights 14; sphendonoid 3 shekel weight carved from hematite, polished, ellipsoid, Choice, 24.946g, 46.6mm long, 14.2mm diameter, Late Bronze Age II, 14th - 13th Century B.C.; ex Archaeological Center (Robert Deutsch, Tel Aviv, Israel), auction 52 (9 Apr 2012), lot 166 (part of); $400.00 (€368.00)
Judah, Haematite Dome Weight (6.402g), c. 800 - 586 B.C.
Haematite is a black iron ore that is often red from oxidized iron on the surface.AS111505. Judah, Haematite dome weight, Tushingham 7 (very similar, 6.51g); Hendin Weights 106 (polished, 7.71g), Hecht A -, Kletter 1998 -, Choice, 6.402g, 18.3mm diameter, 14.3mm high, pre-exile, c. 800 - 586 B.C.; rough unfinished surface, red oxidized surface; very rare; $150.00 (€138.00)
Homo Erectus, Rift Valley, Ethiopia, Black Obsidian Hand Axe, 1 million - 400,000 B.C.
Found in the Rift Valley, Ethiopia in the 1970's. A chip at the end reveals the black obsidian. The axe fits easily into the shallow of the hand. From the collection of Alex G. Malloy, former dealer in antiquities for 40 years.AA35456. Homo Erectus, black Obsidian hand axe; cf. Malloy Weapons 7; 4 1/2" x 3 1/2", finely worked to biface shape; heavy gray patina, Choice, SOLD