SYRIA. Phoenicia. Tyre. AR Shekel (14.21 gms), Dated CY 162 (A.D. 36/7). NGC Ch EF, Strike: 4/5 Surface: 3/5.RPC-4666; HGC-10, 357. Obverse: Laureate bust of Melkart right, with drapery tied around neck; Reverse: Eagle standing left on prow; palm frond behind; to left, PΞB (date) above downward club; to right, KP above monogram; uncertain Phoenician letter between legs. Struck only a few years after the death of Christ, these shekels of Tyre remain a popular issue among collectors owing to their reference in the Bible as the "thirty pieces of silver." Lightly toned and pleasing.
