obv. Laureate and bearded head of Ba′al-Arwad (Lord of Arwad) right rev. Phoenician bireme (war galley) right above waves, figure of Pataikos right on prow, row of shield on bulwalk. Phoenician letters ″Mem Aleph″ (= Melech Arwad = King of Arwad) above
Early coins of Arwad (Greek Arados) have the Aramaic letters mem aleph (read from right to left) above the galley, abbreviating Melech Arad (meaning King of Arwad), sometimes followed by the king′s initial, and sometimes by the Phoenician regnal year date.
The Phoenicians, a Semetic people, developed remarkable proficiency in shipbuilding, seafaring and trade, as the prophet Ezekiel (lived circa 622 – 570 BC) observed. Phoenicians invented the alphabet, which their Greek neighbours and trading partners adopted and transmitted to us. In turn, they acquired the idea of coinage from the Greeks, and the coins of the half-dozen Phoenician city-states give us a window into their history and beliefs. Like so many things in ancient numismatics, the date and identity of the first Phoenician coins are uncertain. The earliest date generally accepted by scholars is about 450 BC. Initially, the coins were all silver–from distant mines in Spain and possibly Sardinia–with weights based on variations of the Babylonian shekel of 7.2 grams. Very small fractions were issued, down to 1/24 shekel (about half a gram, and 10 mm in diameter).
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