Kingdom of Aksum - Endybis, Gold Chrysos, circa AD 300–310

Endybis was the first king of Aksum to strike coinage, and his gold chrysos was consciously modelled on the reformed Roman currency of Diocletian, introduced in AD 286 and 294. The striking decision to place the royal portrait on both faces of the coin — rather than a deity or personification — likely reflects the central place the Aksumite kings held within the ideology of the state, and may echo the earlier practice of the Himyarite rulers of South Arabia. Flanked by ears of barley and crowned by the pellet-in-crescent that would become a hallmark of Aksumite gold, the design announces a young African kingdom taking its place among the great trading powers of the Red Sea. Some doubling, otherwise nearly extremely fine.

Hahn, Aksumite 1; Hahn & Keck, MAKS 1; Munro-Hay, AC type 1. Gold, 16 mm, 2.70 g, 12 h.