Joel, circa 590s-after 610. Lepton (Bronze, 12 mm, 0.65 g, 6 h). ነገሠ አዐአለ ('ngs yoel' = 'King Yoel' in Ge'ez) Draped bust of Joel facing, wearing tight-fitting head cloth decorated with cross and circular earrings; to inner right, small cross. Rev. ከረሰተሰመሰለነ Long cross. Hahn, Aksumite, 61b. Hahn & Keck, MAKS, 89. Munro-Hay, AC, type 134. Light doubling on the obverse, otherwise, very fine.


Joel's coinage exists in two distinct types, most clearly seen in the silver and bronze coinage, where the flans changed from compact, thick flans (which may have helped against deterioration) to broader, thin flans, and the busts from facing busts to busts in profile, an order suggested by overstrikes on bronze coins.The king's name is biblical, referring to the prophet Joel, whose eponymous book describes how locust plagues and droughts afflicted Israel, but that repentance in the face of God would bring deliverance. Considering the declining fortunes of Axum at this time, this name would have been particularly poignant.