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Silver Drachm - Anonymous
| Issuer | Sabaean Kingdom (Southern Arabia) |
|---|---|
| Year | 160 BC - 130 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Drachm (1) |
| 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 |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Athena's owl standing right atop an amphora, rendered in the South Arabian imitative tradition derived from Athenian tetradrachm types. Two South Arabian monograms occupy the left and right fields flanking the owl. The reverse is anepigraphic, bearing no inscribed legend, and the overall composition closely follows the Athenian 'new style' owl coinage while incorporating distinctly local epigraphic elements. |
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| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
The anonymous Sabaean imitative drachms of this period are derived directly from Athenian owl tetradrachms, reduced to drachm weight and stripped of their Athenian identity — a deliberate adaptation for regional trade rather than any acknowledgment of Athenian authority. The kingdom of Saba controlled the overland incense routes connecting southern Arabia to the Mediterranean world, and a recognizable silver coinage built on the most trusted monetary type in circulation gave Sabaean merchants credibility in markets stretching from the Levant to the Persian Gulf.
The anonymity is itself diagnostic. No dynastic name, no royal title — which places this issue firmly within the earlier phase of Sabaean coinage before rulers began asserting individual identity on the currency.