CNG 111, Lot: 384. Estimate $500. Sold for $5500. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

PHILISTIA (PALESTINE), Askalon(?). Mid 5th century-333 BC. AR Drachm (17mm, 3.61 g, 4h). Head of female right, with ‘oriental’ hairstyle / Owl standing facing, wings spread, within incuse square. Gitler & Tal III.3D var. (letters in rev. field); HGC 10, 495 var. (same). VF, toned, some roughness, struck with worn obverse die. Extremely rare.

From the Johnson Family Collection. Lot includes an old Seaby Coin & Medal Bulletin entry for this coin from the 1950s-60s.

The reverse of this issue copies that of the famous Athenian dekadrachms, underscoring the impact of the design even as far as the southern Levant. Although the style of this issue closely resembles that of similar types at Askalon, the issues attributed to that city all have a portion of the ethnic in the field on the reverse. Thus, this could be an issue from one of the other cities in the region.