PHOENICIA, Tyre
AR Shekel. 12.36g, 19.8mm
MINTED: PHOENICIA, Tyre. Uncertain king, circa 393-358 BC
REF: E&E-T 613; HGC 10, 316
OBVERSE: Deity, holding reins and bow, riding hippocamp right above two lines of waves; below, dolphin right.
REVERSE: Owl standing right, head facing; crook and flail in background; Phoenician M to right.

Notes:
Toned and well-centered.  Banker's mark in field on reverse.
 
Provenance:
Ex Dennis Rider Collection of the Coins of Tyre (CNG e-375, 1 Jun 2016, lot 7); ex CNG e-264, 21 Sep 2011, lot 229
 
Historical Notes:
The island of Tyre, now part of Lebanon, was an ancient Phoenician settlement that originally also included a mainland township, known as the Old Town.  When he was beseiging the city, Alexander the Great famously built a causeway across the several hundred yards of sea that separated Tyre from the coast and forced it to surrender.  During the Roman period, Tyre flourished as a great maritime centre, often in rivalry with nearby Berytus (Beirut).  Tyre was also famous in the ancient world for the production of an incredibly rare and expensive purple dye harvested from the murex shellfish.  This Tyrian purple was used to colour the royal toga picta of the Roman emperors.