PHOENICIA, Tyre. Uncertain king. Circa 440-425 BC. AR Shekel (22.5mm, 13.82 g, 3h). Good VF.

CNG Feature Auction 132
Lot: 516. Estimated: $ 750

Greek, Coin-in-Hand Video, Silver

Sold For $ 2 250. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Go to Live

PHOENICIA, Tyre. Uncertain king. Circa 440-425 BC. AR Shekel (22.5mm, 13.82 g, 3h). Dolphin right; [ŠLŠN (in Phoenician) above], waves and murex shell below / Owl standing right, head facing; crook and flail over shoulder; all in outline incuse within incuse square. E&E-T Group I.2.1, 84–181 (unlisted dies); HGC 10, 314. Toned, cut on obverse. Good VF. Overstruck on an uncertain type.

One of the great cities of Phoenicia, Tyre was founded on an island just off the Levantine coast circa 2750 BC and rose to wealth and prominence from its extensive trade network and colonies, including Carthage. Effectively autonomous, it paid only tacit tribute to the Assyrian, Neo-Babylonian and Persian Empires before Alexander the Great arrived in 332 BC. Confident in their defenses, the civic leaders offered only to remain neutral in the conflict and refused Alexander entry to its famous Temple of Melkart. When he tried negotiations again, his envoys were slain and thrown from the walls. Enraged, Alexander subjected Tyre to a titanic seven-month siege. The causeway he built from the mainland to the island citadel forever altered the city’s geography, turning the island into a peninsula. After taking savage reprisals on the city’s populace, he pardoned King Azemilkos and returned him to the throne as a client king to Macedon. Upon Alexander’s death in 323 BC, Tyre was subject first to the Ptolemies and then the Seleukids and was an important mint for both dynasties.

The final winners of all CNG Feature Auction 132 lots will be determined at the live online sale that will be held on 18-19 May 2026.

CNG Feature Auction 132 – Session Two – Lot 319-587 will be held Monday afternoon, 18 May 2026 beginning at 2:00 PM ET.

Winning bids are subject to a 22.5% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 25% for all others.

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