- The Tyrian Shekel, also known as a Tetradrachm, was a coin of ancient Tyre.
- The Coins started being minted in Tyre from c. 450 BCE and were marked with various symbols.
Symbols on Tyrian Shekels
- Dolphin over a Murex shell:
- The Dolphin represents maritime power. The Murex shell represented its wealth, as it produced Tyrean purple, which had a similar value in weight to Silver.
- SLSN:
- The Phoenician letters ‘SLSN’ above. The concensus is that these letters indicated ‘one thirtieth’, but it is not known what coin represented the fraction of one thirtieth.
- Owl holding a Flail and Crook:
- The Flail and the Crook are symbols of Osiris, the Egyptian Deity, and Egypt was Tyre’s oldest trading partner.
- Melqart riding a Seahorse (Hippocamp):
- This appears from c.390 BCE onwards, but the Dolphin over the Murex shell now appears below Melqart.
Tyre