109, Lot: 253. Estimate $100. Sold for $77. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

ARAB-BYZANTINE. Antarados (Tartus) mint? Circa 680-690 AD. Æ Fals (20mm, 4.57 gm, 3h). Byzantine style standing emperor, holding long cross and globus cruciger; AT to left / Large M; monogram above, star below, "current, struck in Damascus" in corrupt Arabic legend. Cf. Walker 26; cf. SICA 572. VF, dark green patina. Possibly rare and important.

One rare Arab-Byzantine type is attributed to the mint of Tartus on the Lebanese coast, a crude copy of an issue of Hims (Emesa) (cf. SICA 559) with the mint name ANTAPw in Greek and "Tartus" in Arabic. This crude fals, ostensibly from the main mint at Damascus, may perhaps have a mintmark AT indicating Antarados. In addition, the die rotation matches the sinlge SICA specimen, whereas Damascus is normally at 12h or 6h.