SAMARIA. Series with personal names and miscellaneous letters. Circa 400-332 BC. Hemiobol or Half Mʿh (Silver, 8 mm, 0.35 g, 12 h). Male figure to left, spearing a horse rearing right. Rev. Male figure seated to right on throne, playing lyre; cuneiform letters in field to right; all within incuse square. CSC 192. Jeselsohn -. Sofaer -. Of the highest rarity and great interest, with cuneiform inscription. Minor scuffs, otherwise, very fine.
Cuneiform is, alongside Egyptian hieroglyphic writing, the world’s earliest writing system and also one of its longest-lived. It remained in use for nearly 3,500 years, from the final third of the fourth millennium BC until the late first century AD. The latest securely dated attestation, from Uruk, dates to 79/80 AD. Less well known is the fact that cuneiform also appears on a small number of exceptionally rare Samarian coins, including the present specimen (cf. CSC 190–192)