Sale: CNG 64, Lot: 418. Estimate $800.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 24 September 2003.  Sold For $500. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

SAMARIA. Circa 375-333 BC. AR Obol (0.49 gm). Persian king in biga with driver to right / Persian king slaying lion; Aramaic "MZ" (Mazaios). Meshorer & Qedar 74. Good VF, dark toning. ($800)

These designs are derived from the silver coins of Sidon. The name is clearly that of Mazaios, the last Persian satrap of the region (344-334 BC). This type is likely to be among the last to be struck at Samaria, since coining appears to have ceased with the arrival of Alexander the Great.