Sale: CNG 82, Lot: 749. Estimate $300.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 16 September 2009.  Sold For $180. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

NABATAEA. Aretas IV, with Huldu. 9 BC-AD 40. AR Drachm (4.37 g, 12h). Petra mint. Uncertain date, struck 9 BC-AD 16. Laureate head of Aretas right; Aramaic ḥēth-semkath across field / Veiled bust of Huldu right, with lotus above head; Aramaic semkath to right. Meshorer, Nabataea -; Schmitt-Korte II -. VF, minor roughness.

The presence of the lotus above the veil of Huldu is a decoration which has yet to be recorded for any Nabataean coinage, making this issue of particular interest.