SAMARIA. 'Middle Levantine' Series. Circa 375-333 BC. Obol (Silver, 9 mm, 0.59 g, 12 h), Sanballat (?), Satrap of Samaria. Crowned head of the Persian Great King to right. Rev. Lion seated left, right forepaw raised; above, 𐡎𐡁 ('sb' in Aramaic); all within dotted square within incuse square. Meshorer & Qedar 52. Sofaer 70. Very rare. An unusually sharp and clear example. Slightly porous, otherwise, good very fine.


The legend on this issue is usually read as 𐡎𐡍 = 'sn' in Aramaic, standing for Sanballat, the name of a Persian Satrap of Samaria. However, this cataloguer clearly reads 𐡎𐡁, which translates as 'sb' and perhaps is a differing abbreviation of the same name, appearing in an extended form on other coins (see Sofaer p. 210).