Kings of Armenia. Aristoboulos
54-92 CE
Æ 21 mm, 5,38 g
This coin has a very interesting history, since it depicts Salome. Supposedly she danced at an event for Herod Antipas, who offered her anything up to half his kingdom. She responded (on the advice of her mother who bore a grudge) with the head of John the Baptist. This was provided, and the merriment continued.
The one thing that surprises me about this coin, and it’s something I’ve seen on Roman ones too, is didn’t engravers know what women looked like? I mean, perhaps these guys were locked up and were unlikely to have seen Salome in person, but didn’t they have mothers and sisters? I honestly had to look up which one is Aristoboulos and which one Salome. Even on the much better condition coins that sell for tens of thousands, I can’t tell.