A countermark match

[robinjojo]

This is an owl that arrived a couple of days ago, an addition to the countermarked part of the collection.

The reverse countermark is a match with #26, page 5, of Peter G. Van Alfen article titled "The Owls' From The 1989 Syria Hoard, With A Review of Pre-Macedonian Coinage in Egypt".  It appears to be most likely an Aramaic "he" or h, retrograde.

 

Here's the coin:

Pharaonic owl, late 5th-mid 4th centuries BC,  cm Aramaic letter (He),  Buttrey-Flament Miscellaneous.

17.08 grams

An owl can with the same countermark can be found in Plate 12 of the article:

 

The placement of this type of countermark, at least based on the two examples here, is placed on the owl, probably due to space considerations.  The more compact countermarks seem to have more of a chance being placed on the obverse or reverse.  

Could this owl be from the 1989 hoard?  There's no provenance suggesting that, but since the hoard was dispersed many years ago, possibly.  One thing is for sure: both the owl in the article and my example passed through the same individual or authority in the Levant who administered this particular type of countermark.

 

 

Edited October 9, 2022 by robinjojo