242, Lot: 87. Estimate $150. Sold for $90. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

NABATAEA. Syllaeus and Aretas IV. 9-6 BC. Æ Quadrans (16mm, 3.39 g, 1h). Petra mint. Struck circa 9-8 BC. Diademed head of Obodas III right; Aremaic shin to left / Crossed cornucopias; Aremaic shin (Syllaeus) and ḥēth (Aretas) across field; O between. Meshorer, Nabataea 43 var. (position of rev. letters); cf. Schmitt-Korte II 26/27 (obv./rev.). Good VF, dark green patina, light earthen deposits. Rare.

The joint rule of the ambitious Nabataean minister Syllaeus and his youthful and eventual successor Aretas IV produced a power struggle which lasted into their fourth year, corresponding to 6 BC. Coinage is thought to have been produced more neutrally at first, with the portrait of Obodas III, their predecessor, placed on many of the issues. Towards the end of the joint rule, this iconography was abandoned in favor of the portrait of Aretas himself, foreshadowing his eventual rise as the sole ruler and king of Nabataea. As this coin features the head of Obodas, it can most likely be dated to the earlier part of the joint rule.