God on the Winged Wheel coin

God on the Winged Wheel coin The God on the Winged Wheel coin , referred to in Levantine numismatics as the British Museum drachma , is a 4th-century BCE silver coin attributed by scholars to the Gaza mint, with a deity seated on a winged wheel . It is considered one of the most unique and enigmatic artifacts from the Abar-Nahara province of the Achaemenid Empire . Currently housed in the British Museum , with ID number TC,p242.5.Pop , the silver coin has sparked intense scholarly debate and has been reclassified several times since its first appearance in the literature in 1814. Its iconography, inscription, and uncertain provenance have prompted scholars to engage in a deep investigation of its origin and significance. It was described in 1931 by Stephen Herbert Langdon as "the only known representation" of Yahweh , but other scholars hold that its iconography fits better with Zeus . The letters YHW are incised just above the hawk(?) which the god holds in his outstretched left hand, Fig. 23. He wears a himation, leaving the upper part of the body bare, and sits upon a winged wheel. The right arm is wrapped in his garment. At his feet is a mask. Because of the winged chariot and mask it has been suggested that Yaw had been identified with Dionysus on account of a somewhat similar drawing of the Greek deity on a vase where he rides in a chariot drawn by a satyr. The coin was certainly minted under Greek influence, and consequently others have compared Yaw on his winged chariot to Triptolemos of Syria, who is represented on a wagon drawn by two dragons.