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Obol
| Issuer | Uncertain Philistian city |
|---|---|
| Year | 450 BC - 333 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Obol (⅙) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Facing Gorgoneion rendered full-face, filling the flan, with large staring eyes, flattened nose, and open mouth revealing teeth. The hair is arranged in tight curling locks radiating outward from the crown, with small serpentine or scroll-like elements visible at the sides of the head. The overall composition is schematic but expressive, consistent with the apotropaic Gorgon type widely employed on Philistian fractional silver coinage. No inscription or exergual marking is present. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Plain |
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| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Philistian coinage of this period is among the most debated in ancient numismatics — the issuing cities remain unresolved, with Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ashdod all proposed at various points, and no single attribution commanding consensus. These fractional silver pieces circulated in a region sitting between Achaemenid administrative demands and active Levantine trade networks, and were likely produced to facilitate small transactions that larger denominations made impractical. The weight standard draws loosely from Athenian and Phoenician precedents simultaneously, reflecting the commercial ambiguity of the southern coastal plain.