"COIN OF THE MONTH" - SAMARIA AR MA'AH ( OBOL ) "MAZAIOS", 4th CENTURY B.C.E.
Meshorer & Qedar 74, Sofaer--, Extremely Fine, some surface corrosion, 9.9mm, .52 gram, Struck Circa. 344 - 334 B.C.E.
Obverse: Persian king riding in biga with driver to right
Reverse: Persian king slaying lion, Aramaic Mem-Zayin "MZ" (Mazaios) between
A EXTREMELY RARE Samarian Ma'ah struck during the reign of the satrap Mazaios. Zero examples present in the extensive Sofaer collection and only two in acsearch.
David Hendin discusses one Mazaios stater type depicting a wall, as referring to the wall of the Jerusalem. The inference is taken from the inscription of "Eber Nahara", i.e. other side of the river. This coin is clearly a link to the satrapy of Mazaios and was indeed minted in Samaria, an area of his dominion "on the other side of the river."
One of the the two other examples we found in the auction records was sold in 2003 by CNG. Their cataloger correctly notes, "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."
An important Biblical coin!
