| Leu Numismatik AG > Web Auction 28 | Auction date: 9 December 2023 |
| Lot number: 5570 Price realized: 190 CHF (Approx. 216 USD / 201 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | Show similar lots on CoinArchives Find similar lots in upcoming auctions on  |
| Lot description: Ella Gabaz/Wazen Agad, circa late 550s-560s. Lepton (Gilt Bronze, 15 mm, 0.89 g, 2 h). ለአሐዘበዘ-ዐደለ ('lʼhzbzydl' = 'To please the peoples' in Ge'ez) Draped half-length bust of Ella Gabaz/Wazen Agad to right, wearing tight-fitting head cloth and circular earring, holding ear of barley ending in a cross. Rev. ዘወ-ዘነ-ዘነ-ገሠ ('zwznzngs' = 'Of Wazen, of the King' in Ge'ez) Cross crosslet with central circle inlaid in gold and another cross crosslet in angles. Hahn, Aksumite, 70. Hahn & Keck, MAKS, 76. Munro-Hay, AC, type 119. Attractive earthen highlights over a dark patina. Light doubling on the obverse, otherwise, very fine. From the Dr. Stephan Coffman Collection. This coin, struck under Ella Gabaz/Wazen Agad, belongs to a remarkable issue of bronze coins displaying a great variety in control marks and the design of the barley ears and the reverses. The obverse legend, 'To please the peoples', naturally refers to the cross on the reverse, which represents the aspiration to spread the true faith to all corners of the globe, further underlined by the gilding of the central circle of the cross on the reverse. This was the last issue of Axumite bronze coins to be regularly gilded. Starting price: 50 CHF |  |
