Freeman and Sear - F&S Mail Bid Sale #11
Lot: 208

KMK006
SOUTHEASTERN ARABIA: Abi'el?. 2nd-1st cent. BC. AR 
tetradrachm (15.66 gm).

Head of Herakles right, wearing lionskin headdress, of 
abstract style with profile eye.
Deity with spiky hair seated left, holding small horse 
figure and sceptre, tree with fruit and trident-like symbol 
in left field, scattering of small pellets in field between 
deity's back and sceptre. 
Cf. Potts Class XLVII, 421-422. An unpublished variant. 

This tetradrachm shares several features with Potts Class XLVII, including the deity’s spiky hair, his rectangular torso, and the scattering of pellets behind his back. But on this coin Herakles’ eye is rendered in profile, whereas Class XLVII invariably shows an almond-shaped frontal eye with thick rims. And none of the specimens illustrated by Potts shows a tree with fruit. Possibly this issue was the prototype for Class XLVII. 

 Lot sold for $1, [ approx 0.75 EUR, 0.52 GBP. 

Re-used by permission of Freeman and Sear, www.freemanandsear.com.