This silver Tyrian shekel is one of the most iconic and historically significant coins of the Hellenistic Near East. The obverse depicts a right-facing portrait of Melqart, the Phoenician god of Tyre, assimilated by the Greeks with Heracles, shown wearing a laurel wreath. The reverse features a powerful eagle standing on a ship’s prow, accompanied by Phoenician and Greek inscriptions indicating Tyre as the minting city. Renowned for its exceptionally high silver purity, the Tyrian shekel was widely trusted and used in major commercial and religious transactions, including payments associated with the Jerusalem Temple. The coin reflects the fusion of Phoenician religious identity, Hellenistic iconography, and ancient Mediterranean trade networks.

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