Coins and Antiquities Consignment Shop
  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 252-497-2724 Expert Authentication - Accurate Descriptions - Reasonable Prices - Coins From Under $10 To Museum Quality Rarities Welcome 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 252-646-1958 Explore Our Website And Find Joy In The History, Numismatics, Art, Mythology, And Geography Of Coins!!!

×Catalog Main Menu
Fine Coins Showcase

Antiquities Showcase
New & Reduced


Show Empty Categories
Shop Search
Shopping Cart
My FORVM
Contact Us
About Forum
Shopping at Forum
Our Guarantee
Payment Options
Shipping Options & Fees
Privacy & Security
Forum Staff
Selling Your Coins
Identifying Your Coin
FAQs
zoom.asp
   View Categories
Home ▸ Catalog ▸ |Greek Coins| ▸ |Geographic - All Periods| ▸ |Phoenicia||View Options:  |  |  |   

Ancient Coins of Phoenicia

Phoenicia, from the Greek Phoiníkē meaning either "land of palm trees" or "purple country," was located on the Mediterranean coastline of what is now Lebanon, Israel, Gaza, Syria, and southwest Turkey, though some colonies later reached the Western Mediterranean and even the Atlantic Ocean, the most famous being Carthage. The enterprising, sea-based Phoenicians spread across the Mediterranean from 1500 to 300 B.C. Their civilization was organized in city-states, similar to those of ancient Greece, perhaps the most notable of which were Tyre, Sidon, Arados, Berytus and Carthage. Each city-state was politically independent and it is uncertain to what extent the Phoenicians viewed themselves as a single nationality. In terms of archaeology, language, lifestyle, and religion there was little to set the Phoenicians apart as markedly different from other Semitic Canaanites. The Phoenician alphabet is an ancestor of all modern alphabets. By their maritime trade, the Phoenicians spread the use of the alphabet to Anatolia, North Africa, and Europe, where it was adopted by the Greeks, who in turn transmitted it to the Romans.

Phoenician, Bronze Trapezoid Cube Weight (Ayin - 21.595g), c. 7th - 4th Century B.C.

|Weights| |&| |Scales|, |Phoenician,| |Bronze| |Trapezoid| |Cube| |Weight| |(Ayin| |-| |21.595g),| |c.| |7th| |-| |4th| |Century| |B.C.|
This weight is the usual shape for the type, an inverted truncated pyramid - a cube with the bottom slightly smaller than the top. The type dates from perhaps as early as the the 9th century B.C. to the end of the Persian period. They were undoubtedly used to weigh silver bullion for transactions. Kletter lists nine weights with circle marks, ranging from 2.55g to 80.67g. Some, like ours, were incised with straight lines or punches. Most were found at Akko.
AS111486. Phoenician, bronze trapezoid cube weight; cf. Hendin Weights 245 (21.63), Kletter 2000 25 (21.17g), Hecht A 47 (20.03g), Choice, 21.595g (3 shekels?), 14.3x16.6x12.9mm, c. 7th - 4th Century B.C.; inverted truncated pyramid (a cube with the bottom slightly smaller than the top), incised circle (Phoenician ayin) on top created with a 8 short straight line cuts, ex Shick Coins (Max Shick, Israel, 2012); $640.00 SALE PRICE $576.00
 


Macedonian Kingdom, Philip III Arrhidaeus and Alexander IV, 323 - 317 B.C.

|Macedonian| |Kingdom|, |Macedonian| |Kingdom,| |Philip| |III| |Arrhidaeus| |and| |Alexander| |IV,| |323| |-| |317| |B.C.||tetradrachm|NEW
Azemilkos ('zmlk) was the King of Tyre when, in 332 B.C., Alexander had already peacefully taken Byblos and Sidon. Tyre sent envoys to Alexander agreeing to do his bidding. He declared that he wished to enter the city to sacrifice to Melqart. Azemilkos was with the Persian fleet at the time, and the Tyrians, unsure who would win the war, responded that they would obey any other command but that neither Persians nor Macedonians could enter the city. When Alexander captured the city, Azemilkos and other notables, including envoys from Carthage, had taken refuge in the temple of Melqart. Alexander spared their lives.
GS113615. Silver tetradrachm, Price 3279, Newell Dated 33, HGC 10 3, Cohen DCA 737, Müller Alexander -, VF, toned, bumps, scratches, cuts on edge, weight 16.872 g, maximum diameter 25.6 mm, die axis 180o, Phoenicia, Tyre (Lebanon) mint, c. 320 - 319 B.C.; obverse head of Herakles right, wearing Nemean Lion skin, scalp over head, forepaws tied at neck; reverse AΛEΞANΔPOY downward on right, Zeus Aëtophoros seated left on throne without back, bare to the waist, himation around hips and legs, eagle in extended right hand, long scepter vertical behind in left hand, right leg drawn back, feet on footstool, Phoenician date left: -= (year 30 of King Azemilkos); ex Tarshish (J. Zaddok & Sons, Jerusalem, Israel); $350.00 SALE PRICE $315.00
 


Valerian I, October 253 - c. June 260 A.D., Tyre, Phoenicia

|Phoenicia|, |Valerian| |I,| |October| |253| |-| |c.| |June| |260| |A.D.,| |Tyre,| |Phoenicia||dichalkon|
Romans refounded Tyre as a colony in 64 B.C., when Pompey annexed Phoenicia to the Roman Empire. Tyre flourished under the Rome and remained a Roman port city, even under the Byzantine Empire, until the 7th century when it was taken by Muslim conquest.
RP96396. Bronze dichalkon, BMC Phoenicia p. 289, 465 var. (murex shell on right); Rouvier -; Baramki AUB -; SNG Hunt -; SNG Cop -, F, rough dark green patina, earthen deposits, weight 16.345 g, maximum diameter 27.5 mm, die axis 0o, Phoenicia, Tyre (Lebanon) mint, Oct 253 - Jun 260 A.D.; obverse IMP C P LIC VALERIANVS AVG, laureate bust right; reverse COL TVRO METR, river-god (Adonis?) standing facing, head left, nude to waist, himation around hips and legs, right hand dropping incense on flaming altar at her feet on left, long grounded reed vertical in left hand, murex shell on left; from the J. Berlin Caesarea Collection, 1971 Caesarea Maritima surface find; Coin Archives records only one specimen of the type at auction in the last two decades; extremely rare; $280.00 SALE PRICE $224.00
 


Macedonian Kingdom, Alexander the Great, 336 - 323 B.C., Unofficial Imitative of Sidon, Phoenicia

|Alexander| |the| |Great|, |Macedonian| |Kingdom,| |Alexander| |the| |Great,| |336| |-| |323| |B.C.,| |Unofficial| |Imitative| |of| |Sidon,| |Phoenicia||hemiobol|
 
GS112791. Silver hemiobol, Unofficial imitative of Sidon, for prototype see Price 3478, VF, toned, porous, weight 0.334 g, maximum diameter 9.6 mm, unofficial mint, early posthumous, c. 323 - 305 B.C.; obverse head of Herakles right, wearing Nemean Lion skin, scalp over head, forepaws tied at neck; reverse Zeus Aëtophoros enthroned left, nude to the waist, himation around hips and legs, eagle in extended right hand, long scepter vertical behind in left hand, right leg drawn back, ΣI (Sidon) left, AΛΕΞANΔ (or similar, mostly off flan) downward on right; ex Classical Numismatic Group e-sale 518 (15 Jun 2022), lot 82; $200.00 SALE PRICE $180.00
 


Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, Ptolemy IV Philopator, 221 - 204 B.C.

|Ptolemaic| |Egypt|, |Ptolemaic| |Kingdom| |of| |Egypt,| |Ptolemy| |IV| |Philopator,| |221| |-| |204| |B.C.||dichalkon|
Ptolemy IV's surname Philopator means father lover, ironic since according to some authorities he poisoned his father. Ptolemy IV is a major protagonist of the apocryphal 3 Maccabees, which describes events following the Battle of Raphia, in both Jerusalem and Alexandria. He was a cruel and evil monarch.
GP110808. Bronze dichalkon, Lorber CPE B550, Svoronos -, BMC Ptolemies -; Weiser -; SNG Cop -, Noeske -, SNG Milan -, Malter -, aVF, dark green patina, scratches, beveled obv. edge, central cavities, weight 3.114 g, maximum diameter 15.6 mm, die axis 0o, Phoenicia, Tyre (Lebanon) mint, 221 - 204 B.C.; obverse diademed head of Zeus-Ammon right; reverse ΠTOΛEMAIOY BAΣIΛEΩΣ, eagle standing left on thunderbolt, wings closed, club left, ΣΕ monogram between legs; only one sale (misattributed) of this type listed on Coin Archives in the last two decades; extremely rare; $180.00 SALE PRICE $162.00
 


Macedonian Kingdom, Alexander the Great, 336 - 323 B.C., Tyre, Phoenicia, Lifetime Issue

|Alexander| |the| |Great|, |Macedonian| |Kingdom,| |Alexander| |the| |Great,| |336| |-| |323| |B.C.,| |Tyre,| |Phoenicia,| |Lifetime| |Issue||obol|
After the battle of Issos, Alexander determined to seize the Phoenician coast and eliminate the threat of the Phoenician warships which had served Persia. He asked King Azemilkos of Tyre to allow him to enter the city to sacrifice to the god Melqart. After Azemilkos refused to make this act of submission, in January 332 B.C., Alexander besieged Tyre. The city was taken, after great violence, in September.
GS110745. Silver obol, Price 3253, Newell Ake 15, SNG Cop 1011, Cohen DCA 741, HGC 10 6, gVF, toned, off center, scratch, weight 0.578 g, maximum diameter 10.1 mm, die axis 180o, Phoenicia, Tyre (Lebanon) mint, struck under Menes, 329 - 328 B.C.; obverse head of Herakles right, wearing Nemean Lion skin, scalp over head, forepaws tied at neck; reverse Zeus Aëtophoros enthroned left, nude to the waist, himation around hips and legs, eagle in extended right hand, long scepter vertical behind in left hand, right leg forward (archaic lifetime style), AΛEΞANΔPOY downward on right, Phoenician lower left: AK over 21 ([regnal year] 21 of Azemilkos [King of Tyre]); $125.00 SALE PRICE $113.00
 


Lot of 4 Silver Fractions From Phoenicia, c. 425 - 300 B.C.

|Phoenicia|, |Lot| |of| |4| |Silver| |Fractions| |From| |Phoenicia,| |c.| |425| |-| |300| |B.C.||Lot|
 
GA97055. Silver Lot, Phoenician silver fractions, c. 0.6g - 0.8g, c. 9mm, 4 coins, $100.00 SALE PRICE $90.00
 


Ake Ptolemais, Galilee, c. 111 - 110 B.C.

|Judaea| |&| |Palestine|, |Ake| |Ptolemais,| |Galilee,| |c.| |111| |-| |110| |B.C.||AE| |15|
Ptolemais was a maritime city of Galilee (Acts 21:7). It was originally Accho, but was renamed Ptolemais under the rule of Ptolemy Soter.

The kithara (cithara) was an ancient stringed musical instrument resembling the lyre. The lyre was a simpler folk-instrument with two strings and tortoise shell body. The kithara had seven strings and a flat back. A symbol of Apollo, who was credited with inventing it, the Kithara's origins were likely Asiatic. The kithara was primarily used by professional musicians, called kitharodes. In modern Greek, the word kithara has come to mean "guitar."
GY111139. Bronze AE 15, cf. Kadman Akko 51; HGC 10 23 (R1), Seyrig Ptolémaïs 4, VF, near centered, porosity, obv. edge beveled, edge cracks, date obscure but only BΣ published, weight 2.405 g, maximum diameter 15.3 mm, die axis 0o, Ake Ptolemais (Acre, Israel) mint, c. 111 - 110 B.C.; obverse laureate head of Apollo right; reverse kithara (lyre), ANTIOXEΩN downward on right, TΩN / EN ΠTOΛEMAIΔI in two downward lines on left, BΣ ([year] 202 [Seleukid era]) outer left; rare; $100.00 SALE PRICE $90.00
 


Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, Ptolemy III Euergetes, 246 - 222 B.C.

|Ptolemaic| |Egypt|, |Ptolemaic| |Kingdom| |of| |Egypt,| |Ptolemy| |III| |Euergetes,| |246| |-| |222| |B.C.||hemiobol|
Ptolemy III Euergetes was the third ruler of the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt. He promoted the translation of Jewish scriptures into Greek as the Septuagint. Due to a falling out at the Seleucid court, his eldest sister Berenice Phernophorus was murdered along with her infant son. In response, he invaded Syria, occupied Antioch, and even reached Babylon. This war, the Third Syrian War, is cryptically alluded to in Daniel XI 7-9. The Ptolemaic kingdom reached the height of its power during his reign.
GP111185. Bronze hemiobol, Lorber CPE B469, Svoronos 709, SNG Cop 496, BMC Ptolemies p. 53, 70, Weiser 57, Hosking 27; SNG Milan 138; Noeske 96, aVF, centered on a broad flan, edge cracks, obverse edge beveled, central dimples, weight 5.730 g, maximum diameter 19.6 mm, die axis 0o, Phoenicia, Tyre (Lebanon) mint, c. 230 - 222 B.C.; obverse diademed and horned head of Zeus-Ammon right; reverse ΠTOΛEMAIOY BAΣIΛEΩΣ (King Ptolemy), eagle standing left on fulmen (thunderbolt), wings closed, club left, no control letters; from the Michael Arslan Collection; $90.00 SALE PRICE $81.00
 


Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, Ptolemy III Euergetes, 246 - 222 B.C.

|Ptolemaic| |Egypt|, |Ptolemaic| |Kingdom| |of| |Egypt,| |Ptolemy| |III| |Euergetes,| |246| |-| |222| |B.C.||hemiobol|
Ptolemy III Euergetes was the third ruler of the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt. He promoted the translation of Jewish scriptures into Greek as the Septuagint. Due to a falling out at the Seleucid court, his eldest sister Berenice Phernophorus was murdered along with her infant son. In response, he invaded Syria, occupied Antioch, and even reached Babylon. This war, the Third Syrian War, is cryptically alluded to in Daniel XI 7-9. The Ptolemaic kingdom reached the height of its power during his reign.
GP111186. Bronze hemiobol, Lorber CPE B469, Svoronos 709, SNG Cop 496, BMC Ptolemies p. 53, 70, Weiser 57, Hosking 27; SNG Milan 138; Noeske 96, VF, broad flan, earthen encrustation, scratches, obverse edge beveled, central dimples, weight 6.182 g, maximum diameter 20.5 mm, die axis 0o, Phoenicia, Tyre (Lebanon) mint, c. 230 - 222 B.C.; obverse diademed and horned head of Zeus-Ammon right; reverse ΠTOΛEMAIOY BAΣIΛEΩΣ (King Ptolemy), eagle standing left on fulmen (thunderbolt), wings closed, club left, no control letters; from the Michael Arslan Collection; $90.00 SALE PRICE $81.00
 




  



CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE FROM THIS CATEGORY - FORVM's PRIOR SALES


REFERENCES

Baramki, D. The Coin Collection of the American University of Beirut Museum. (Beirut, 1974).
Burnett, A., M. Amandry, et al. Roman Provincial Coinage. (1992 - ).
Betlyon, J. The Coinage and Mints of Phoenicia. The Pre-Alexandrine Period. Harvard Semitic Monographs, Vol. 26. (Chico, CA, 1982).
Burnett, A. & M. Amandry. Roman Provincial Coinage II: From Vespasian to Domitian (AD 69-96). (London, 1999).
Cohen, E. Dated Coins of Antiquity: A comprehensive catalogue of the coins and how their numbers came about. (Lancaster, PA, 2011).
de Saulcy, F. Numismatique de la Terre Sainte: description des monnaies autonomes et impériales de la Palestine et de l 'Arabie Pétrée. (Paris, 1874).
Duyrat, F. Arados Hellénistique: Étude historique et monétaire. (Beirut, 2005).
Duyrat, F. "Les ateliers monétaires de Phénicie du Nord à l'époque hellénistique" in Les Monnayages Syriens.
Elayi, J. & A. Elayi. Le monnayage de la cité phénicienne de Sidon à l'époque perse (Ve-IVe s. av. J.-C.). (Paris, 2004).
Elayi, J. & A. Elayi. The Coinage of the Phoenician City of Tyre in the Persian Period (5th-4th cent. BCE). (Leuven-Paris-Walpole, MA, 2009).
Hendin, D. Guide to Biblical Coins. (Amphora, 2010).
Hersh, C. "Tyrus Rediviva Reconsidered" in AJN 10. (New York, 1998).
Hill, G. Catalogue of Greek Coins in the British Museum: Phoenicia. (London, 1910).
Houghton, A., C. Lorber & O. Hoover. Seleucid Coins: A Comprehensive Catalog. (Lancaster, 2002 - 2008).
Hoover, O. Handbook of Coins of the Southern Levant: Phoenicia, Southern Koile Syria (Including Judaea), and Arabia, Fifth to First Centuries BC. HGC 10. (Lancaster, PA, 2010).
Lindgren, H. & F. Kovacs. Ancient Bronze Coins of Asia Minor and the Levant. (San Mateo, 1985).
Lindgren, H. Lindgren III: Ancient Greek Bronze Coins. (Quarryville, 1993).
Meshorer, Y. "The Coins of Dora" in INJ 9 (1986).
Meshorer, Y. "One Hundred Ninety Years of Tyrian Shekels" in Studies Mildenberg (Wettern, 1984).
Meshorer, Y., et al. Coins of the Holy Land: The Abraham and Marian Sofaer Collection at the American Numismatic Society and The Israel Museum. ACNAC 8. (New York, 2013).
Mionnet, T. Description de Médailles antiques grecques et romaines, supplement vol. 8: Rois de Syria. (Paris, 1837).
Mørkholm, O. Early Hellenistic Coinage. From the Accession of Alexander to the Peace of Apamea (336-188 BC). (Cambridge, 1991).
Newell, E. Alexander Hoards II, Demanhur, 1905. ANSNNM 19. (New York, 1923).
Newell, E. The Dated Alexander Coinage of Sidon and Ake. (Oxford, 1916).
Newell, E. Seleucid Coins of Tyre: A Supplement. ANSNNM 73. (New York, 1936).
Prieur, M. & K. Prieur. The Syro-Phoenician Tetradrachms and their fractions from 57 BC to AD 258. (Lancaster, PA, 2000).
Price, M. The Coinage of in the Name of Alexander the Great and Philip Arrhidaeus. (London, 1991).
Rogers, E. The Second and Third Seleucid Coinage at Tyre. ANSNNM 34. (New York, 1927).
Rosenberger, M. The Rosenberger Israel Collection Vol. II: City-Coins of Palestine: Caesarea, Diospolis, Dora, Eleutheropolis, Gaba, Gaza and Joppa. (Jerusalem, 1975).
Rouvier, J. "Numismatique des Villes de la Phénicie" in Journal International d'Archéologie Numismatique. (Athens, 1900-1904).
RPC Online - http://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/
Sear, D. Greek Coins and Their Values, Vol. 2: Asia and Africa. (London, 1979).
Sear, D. Greek Imperial Coins and Their Values. (London, 1982).
Svoronos, J. Ta Nomismata tou Kratous ton Ptolemaion. (Athens, 1904-08).
Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, Denmark, The Royal Collection of Coins and Medals, Danish National Museum, Volume 7: Cyprus to India. (New Jersey, 1981).
Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, France, Bibliothèque National, Collection Jean et Marie Delepierre. (Paris, 1983).
Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, Schweiz II, Katalog der Sammlung Jean-Pierre Righetti im Bernischen Historischen Museum. (Bern, 1993).
Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, Great Britain XII, The Hunterian Museum, Univ. of Glasgow, Part 2: Roman Provincial Coins: Cyprus-Egypt. (Oxford, 2008).

Catalog current as of Saturday, December 2, 2023.
Page created in 1.027 seconds.
All coins are guaranteed for eternity