404, Lot: 284. Estimate $500. Sold for $425. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

PHOENICIA, Sidon. Uncertain king. Early-mid 4th century BC. AR Dishekel (28mm, 25.79 g, 5h). Contemporary imitation. Phoenician galley left; waves below / Persian king and driver in chariot drawn by two horses left. E&E-S App. V, 15–6 (same dies); cf. HGC 10, 236, 242, 256, 258, 260, and 264 (for possible prototypes). VF, toned, areas of weak strike, double struck and small deposit on obverse. Excellent metal.

This coin is struck from the same obverse die as two dishekels that E&E-S listed among their “false or doubtful” coins (the authors considered their nos. 15 and 16 to have been from different obverse dies, but this is not correct; they definitely are the same). On close inspection, the fabric of the present coin is consistent with authenticity, though the style is not consistent with official products of the Sidon mint. E&E-S no. 16 was a coin offered in our Triton II sale, and it also had the appearance of a genuine ancient coin. Thus, it is more likely that these three coins, struck from one obverse and three reverse dies, represent an unofficial, imitative issue, rather than a modern forgery.