Hemidrachm - Anonymous Two busts

The Qatabanian kingdom, centered in the Beihan valley of what is now Yemen, controlled key sections of the overland incense trade routes that connected the frankincense and myrrh producing regions of Dhofar and Hadramawt to Mediterranean markets. These fractional silver pieces circulated in an economy built almost entirely on that commerce. The anonymous nature of the issue — no ruler named, no regnal reference — is consistent with Qatabanian monetary practice, where civic or federal authority frequently took precedence over individual kingship in coinage.

The Attic weight standard underlying this denomination reflects direct engagement with Greek mercantile networks, likely through intermediary ports on the Red Sea coast.