Tyre, Phoenicia AR Half Shekel 81/80 BC Year 46 Melqart Eagle on Prow Rare

Tyre, Phoenicia, Half Shekel, silver, 80–81 BC; 7.10 g; 21 mm. Struck at Tyre. Anepigraphic obverse with laureate head of Melqart right, lion-skin around neck. Reverse with legend TYPOY IEPAΣ KAI AΣYΛOY; eagle standing left on prow, palm frond over wing; in left field CM above club (date = Year 46 of the Tyrian era), monogram in right field; Phoenician A between the eagle’s legs. Die axis 12h; compact flan, reverse well centered with full devices, obverse peripheral detail off flan. Reference: HGC 10, 357 (this year unlisted); rare date.

Historical significance: After regaining civic autonomy in 126/5 BC, Tyre issued high‑purity silver shekels and half‑shekels bearing its tutelary Melqart and an eagle on a ship’s prow, the legend proclaiming the city “holy and inviolable.” Dated Year 46 (CM = 81/80 BC), this coin belongs to the late Hellenistic series that circulated widely across the Levant. Tyrian half‑shekels were valued for consistent silver fineness and became the standard coin used in Judaea for payment of the annual Temple tax.