King of Judea, Herod the Great founded the Herodian Dynasty which lasted from 55 B.C. to 93 A.D. He was first appointed governor of Galilee in 47 B.C. After the defeat of Marc Antony in 31 B.C. the victorius Octavian (Future Emperor Augustus) confirmed Herod as king of Judea and added important territories to his domains. Herod rebuilt the city of Samaria, and established the port city of Caesarea on the Mediterranean. In Jerusalem, he rebuilt the Temple and expanded it into a huge complex bounded by the Western Wall. According to the Gospel of Matthew, Herod ordered the massacre of innocent children in Bethlehem in an attempt to kill the infant Jesus. He died in Palestine in 4B.C. The following coin was struck during the reign of Herod the Great. Obverse shows a couple of cornucopia surrounding a caduceus. There's a capital letter N over caduceus. The reverse has a Seleucid anchor. It weighs 1.7 g. Hendin 500 v. Feel free to post your coins of Herod or any relevant coin.
Very cool and historical new acquisition. I’m sad we didn’t heard from @Deacon Ray in 2022, he could have showed us many examples from his wonderful collection. Where are you Ray ?
Actually, you have a prutah issue of Herod Archelaus, eldest son of Herod the Great. The type is Hendin (6th ed.) 6223. Below are four of my Herod the Great examples. The type numbers shown are from Hendin's 5th edition. Top left: 8 prutot. Top right: 2 prutot. Bottom left: half-prutah. Bottom right: 1 prutah. And here is a 4-prutot. Hendin (5th ed.) 1170. Sorry for small, low quality images.
And here are two of my Herod Archelaus issues... Half-Prutah. Hendin (5th ed.) 1197. 2-Prutot. Hendin (5th ed.) 1194. (Again, sorry for low quality. In a hurry tonight.)
Nice coin of Archelaus (as @philologus_1 pointed out), and background information on his father, @7Calbrey! Here's my example of your coin. Hendin notes that there are many varieties of inscriptions and placement of letters for this type. This one has "EΘNA" on the reverse, beginning with "E" at the top center. JUDAEA, Herodians. Herod Archelaus (4-6 AD). Æ Prutah (15.8 mm maximum diameter, 1.45 g, die 0°). Jerusalem mint. H-P-W, anchor with cross-bar and ring, dotted border. / E−Θ−N−A, two crossed cornucopia adorned with ribbons, caduceus between, dotted border. Hendin 6223. @Andres2 and @philologus_1 posted the Herod the Great coin that looks similar to the OP. Here are a couple of other examples: Judaea. Herod I The Great (40 - 4 BC). AE Prutah. Jerusalem mint. BACI HPW to right and left of anchor. / Double cornucopia with caduceus between. Hendin 6219. Here are two other types of Herod the Great coins not yet shown with anchors on them: Judaea. Herod I The Great, 40-4 BC. AE Prutah (14 mm, 0.91 gm). Jerusalem mint. BACI / ΛEVCH / [PΩ]ΔH[C] (King Herod) / Anchor within laurel wreath. Hendin 6208. JUDAEA, Herodians. Herod I (the Great) (40 - 4 BC). Æ half-prutah (14.4 mm, 1.09 gm). Jerusalem mint. Undated, circa 26-23 BC. BACIΛEΩC HPΩΔOY in concentric circles (name of Herod the King), dotted border. / Anchor within a circle decorated with vertical lines or rays. Hendin 6209.
Thanks a lot for your generous contribution. I think I still need too much to learn about coins of ancient Judea, whether during the Greek or Roman periods. There are also coins during the revolts. Notice that the Seleucid anchor was a symbol of the Seleucid reign. Again Thank you guys.
..well, dont feel only Charles...i'm down to two Jewish coins and i believe this 8 pruta one to be of Herod the G...perhaps one of our enlightened Peeps can educate me again ..and right, i think the last i seen D Ray was around Christmas...
Indeed! It is the eight prutot of Herod the Great. It was the largest coin he issued. The central devices are a decorated soldier's helmet on the obverse, and a ceremonial bowl atop a tripod on the reverse. The Hendin 5th edition catalogue number is 1169; the 6th edition number is 6204. (RPC I 4901. Meshorer TJC 44. HGC 10, 40.) Two interesting facts: 1. Until relatively recently there was no certainty re: the obverse's featured object's identity. It had been described as varying types of vessels/bowls or a large incense burner. It was not until 1990 that David Hendin "solved this mystery" (his own accurate words, per page 207 of his 6th edition of GBC). 2. Although it is a nicely large bronze, it is not the largest of all Judaean bronze issues. Herod's predecessor Mattityah Antigonus holds that record with his eight prutot coin with an average weight of 14 grams (as opposed to Herod's eight prutot which weighs an average of 10.6 grams (per RPC online)). Here is my example: 24 mm. 6.67 gr. J.P. Fontanille die numbers: O15 / R49. (This was a very large production issue. There are 110 known reverse dies.)
