ARABIA, Eastern. Gerrha/Thaj (?). Series with the name of Shams, circa 230-220 BCE. Obol (Silver, 12 mm, 1.00 g, 10 h), imitating Alexander 'the Great' (336-323 BCE). Diademed male head (of Shams?) with curly hair and long ringlets to right. Rev. [AΛEΞ]ANΔP[OY] Shams seated left on low throne, holding long scepter in his left hand and eagle standing right with closed wings in his right; to left, 𐩦𐩣𐩪 ('s²ms¹' in South Arabian). CCK 107 (this coin). Potts 46-50. Potts (Suppl.) 8-11. Extremely rare. Lightly toned and with a particularly interesting obverse. Slightly rough and with a minor scuff on the obverse, otherwise, good very fine.


The obols carrying Shams' name on the reverse exist in two distinct varieties, first, with a distinctly 'hellenistic' male head with short, plain hair on the obverse, which was clearly modelled after images of the Seleukid kings, and secondly, in the form found on this lot and the following lot. On these, the male head retains the diadem, but the hair is curly and ends in long ringlets in the back. It is possible that this image was not modelled after a king, but rather depicts Shams himself, who was considered female in South Arabia, but male in Northeast Arabia. Such an identification becomes even more persuasive when the image is compared to the rendering of the god on the reverse of lot 2223 above, where unlike Zeus, he also appears beardless and has curly hair.