PHILISTIA. Central Mint. Philistian-styled, circa 420-350 BCE. Rbʾ Šql = Drachm (Silver, 16 mm, 3.56 g, 12 h). Two frontal bearded Bes-heads, with lateral hair and neck truncations, joined above by a horizontal band or diadem, surmounted by two confronted lion protomes; above, 𐡁 (B in Aramaic); all within circular guilloche-pattern border. Rev. Hybrid janiform head, with bearded male head facing and male (?) head in profile to right, crescent (?) on cheek; all within circular guilloche-pattern border within circular incuse. Babelon, Achéménides, pl. VII, 14 = Traité II.2, pl. CLXXIV, 7 (same dies). Gitler & Tal XVIII.8Dc (this coin). Hendin 6019 corr. (obverse description). Jeselsohn 309 (same dies). Mildenberg, Palästina, pl. LVIII, 68 = Mildenberg, Vestigia, pl. XXXI, 3. Soshana -. Sofaer -. Extremely rare and in exceptional condition for the issue. The obverse somewhat porous and with minor roughness and a die break on the reverse, otherwise, good very fine.



The headdress of the Bes-heads, as well as the hybrid janiform head on this impressive piece, strongly recall lots 67-70, 91 and 98 above. The drachm plays on apotropaic associations: the frontal and hybrid heads evoke vigilance and warning, while the lions emphasize the fierce, protective power of Bes. In this sense, this beautiful coin almost takes on the character of a protective amulet.

Also of interest is the curved line on the cheek of the right-facing head on the reverse, which appears not to have been previously commented upon. Unlike the vertical line that crosses it, this is not a die break, but a deliberate ornamental detail. It recalls the crescent on Athenian tetradrachms, from which the profile of the right-facing head also was adapted. It is therefore possible that the right-facing head, despite the shared coiffure linking it to the frontal bearded male face, is not male after all, but female – or, more likely, deliberately ambiguous, in keeping with the generally hybrid character of the coin’s wonderful imagery.