PHILISTIA. Central Mint. Philistian-styled, circa 420-350 BCE. Rbʾ Šql = Drachm (Subaeratus, 14 mm, 2.34 g, 6 h). Bearded male head to right, hair gathered on the back. Rev. Hybrid head composed of a bearded male head to right, with a facing gorgoneion, tongue protruding, emerging from the back of the male head at a right angle; all within incuse square. Gitler & Tal -, cf. VI.4Da = Leu Judaica 32 above (for obverse) and XIII.5D and XVI.34D (for reverse). Hendin -. Jeselsohn -. Shoshana -. Sofaer -. Unique and unpublished save for its previous auction appearances. Beautifully toned and of great iconographical interest. Minor edge splits, otherwise, good very fine.



This type, not yet recorded by Gitler & Tal 2006, is particularly important for the way in which it links several types iconographically. The reverse is already known from XIII.5D and XVI.34D, while the obverse, with its Aradian-style bearded head, recalls VI.4Da and XVII.5D–7D.

In its 2011 auction commentary, NAC stated that 'several specimens of this coin-type have been sold in auctions in the past years.' This is incorrect and was presumably the result of confusion with another, more common type. The present piece remains unique to this day and, apart from its previous auction appearances, unpublished.

Equally noteworthy are its unusually low weight of 2.34 g and its distinctive patina, with slight traces of silver still visible in several areas. These features suggest that the coin may originally have consisted of a silver-plated bronze core and subsequently lost most of its silver coating, leaving the bronze core exposed. If this interpretation is correct, the silver layer must have been extremely thin, as the designs remain remarkably sharp on the underlying bronze core.