Featured What Happened to the Autonomous Tyrian Shekels ?

R.C., Thanks for the kind words ! I felt like contributing a thread that wasn't as frivolous as some of the ones I've posted in the past . The palm frond is an ancient symbol to the Greeks & Romans, signaling victory & peace. It's often seen on Roman Republican denarii like the one pictured below.

Q. Antonius Balbus, 83 - 82 BC, AR Serrate Denarius: 17 mm, 4 h. Obverse: Laureate head of Jupiter. Reverse: Victory driving quadriga, holding reins, wreath, & palm frond.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Carl, That's a handsome portrait of Melkart on your shekel ! Many collectors are after Tyrian shekels the could have circulated when Jesus Christ was still alive, the so called "Judas Shekels". Your coin has that possibility .

 

Excellent @Al Kowsky!!! Thank you for taking the time to study and do such a fine job of writing it all up -- with BEAUTIFUL coins as examples!

This is certainly true, but there is an exception to the palm being present on the Flavian design change. There is a 70/71AD issue on which a club appears rather than palm frond. This is neither a beautiful example nor great photo quality, but:


I purchased this coin with a listed attribution to the Antioch mint. It certainly looks Antiochene! And indeed McAlee's outstanding reference on the Romans Coins of Antioch assigns it a number (McAlee 379). However, as McAlee himself (and RPC authors) point out, this type may not have been produced in Antioch.

The presence of a club might make one suspect it was a Tyre issue, but current scholarship points elsewhere. Perhaps Caesarea Maritima. Below is the current attribution info I have in my files for my example:

Titus as Caesar. 70-79 AD.
AR Tetradrachm. Year 3 = 70/71 A.D.
Possibly Caesarea Maritima, Judaea.
Obv.: AYTOKP TITOC KAIΣ OYECΠ Bust laureate right with aegis on shoulder.
Rev: ETOYΣ Γ IEPOY Eagle with spread wings and wreath in beak standing left on palm branch, club before him.
Weight: 14.38 gr. (12 hr.).
Attrib.: RPC II 1967. McAlee 379. Prieur 140.
Historically important Flavian tetradrachm which features Titus. Often found worn, off-center, and/or on an undersized flan. This issue may have been struck in association with the Judaea Capta coins soon after Titus' capture of Jerusalem in 70 AD. (See notes in RPC II, Part I, pg. 276. And also McAlee, pp. 121-122.)

 

philologus 1, Thanks for posting your fascinating & controversial coin. I can understand why McAlee lists the coin as an Antioch product; by style alone it looks like the work of Antioch. Of course there is that outside chance it could be the product of Tyre or Caesarea Maritima. Herod the Great handed over all of Judea to the Romans around 30 BC, & renamed the important seaport Caesarea Maritima in honor of Augustus Caesar. It quickly became a Roman city instead of a Jewish one. In fact the Romans called Caesarea Maritima the capital of Jerusalem. No doubt bronze Judaea Capta coinage was minted in Caesarea Maritima, & the comparison illustrated by McAlee on page 173 of his book between the bronze & silver coin is worthy of attention. There is also the possibility that one city mint like Antioch could have supplied mint workers to Tyre & Caesarea Maritima, accounting for the similarity of these coins. It's too bad we can't step into a Time Machine & travel back to AD 70 & see for ourselves .... BTW, your photo is excellent.

 

@Al Kowsky - thanks again, there are at least two I want to share here

 

Svarog, Thanks for posting these two handsome coins ! The year 12 shekel has a fine portrait. Being an early issue like the coin Nemo posted it probably has a full weight. Although the purity was maintained on the later issues the weight got progressively lighter. You should take better photos of Augustus Caesar Tet. There is so much direct light on the coin fine details are bleached out. I'm sure it looks better than those photos .