Arados, Phoenicia, 2nd-1st Century BC, Drachm

Arados, drachm, AR, 2nd–1st Century BC, Arados mint, 3.13 g, 17 mm. Obverse with a bee shown in profile with straight wings; dated numeral in the left field and monogram in the right field. Reverse with a stag standing right before a palm. Struck on a compact flan with clear central detail and minor peripheral softness consistent with the issue. BMC Phoenicia 21, 158.

Arados, a major Phoenician maritime city, issued silver drachms for regional circulation during the Hellenistic period, reflecting the city’s economic role and autonomy within shifting political frameworks of the eastern Mediterranean. The bee and stag/palm types belong to a civic series that combines local iconography with dated production, providing useful chronological evidence for Aradian monetary administration and its integration into broader commercial exchange networks.