4th century BCE
AR Quarter Shekel – Drachm 11mm, 3.61g
Imitating Athens. Helmeted head of Athena right, degraded to blank dome-like surface /
Owl standing right, head facing; olive spray and crescent to left.
GTvA 12–20; HGC 10, 617
Edom has an extremely long history. It was attested in ancient Egyptian sources and, after conflict with the Babylonians and then the Nabataeans, they settled south of the Kingdom of Judah.
This coin, like that of many others minted during this time in the region, imitates the famous owl currency of Athens. The obverse of the coinage depicts Apollo, though for some reason nearly every die was eventually worn down, so it’s no longer visible. This coin follows the norm. Perhaps it was for religious reasons, since the obverse dies were obviously kept in good shape, but we cannot know for sure.
Some sources list the Edomites as descendants of Esau. The warred between Judah for some time until they were eventually conquered by them under John Hyrcanus I. Numerous ancient sources, including Josephus, document that he forcibly converted the Edomites to Judaism, though this is disputed since the act is against Jewish law.