Judaea: bronze leptons of Alexander Jannaeus, ca. 103-76 BC (the biblical "Widow's mite")

What is fact and what I believe may differ but I see the square flan as the result of an overflow in the string of connected, circular flans. There is still evidence of the thicker channel that connected to circles obverse left. I also believe that the coins were struck before the flans were separated from each other and that all this took place in a matter of seconds to meet the demands of making so many coins quickly. This did not allow for trimming up edges or scrap. The one below shows what you get if the metal stayed inside the intended confines of the mold and the cutting apart kept a sprue on each side of this coin at the expense of its neighbors. This underfill failed to complete the round flan obverse lower left and reverse lower right.

The square one was cut close on the right side removing all of that sprue. The reverse shows no sign of the channels since overfilling of the mold rose above the top of the channel. Like I said, I am by no means certain of the meanings of the evidence but this is how I see the evidence. I am unaware of a scholarly book that addresses the matter and shows examples that prove their theories. Anyone?

 

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Yes, @philologus_1, we might as well complete the Herod the Great coinage denomination countdown- all the way to a half-prutah!

Picking up with another "2" ...



Judaea. Herodians. Herod I (The Great). Æ 2-Prutah. Undated, 40-4 BC. HPOΔOY BACIΛEOC, cross within closed diadem. / Tripod table with object upon it, flanked by palm branches. Hendin 1178. 3.62g, 17mm, 12h.

"1" ....



JUDAEA, Herodians. Herod I (the Great) (40-4 BC). Æ Prutah (14.3 mm, 1.80 g). Jerusalem mint. H[P]W BACI[Λ], anchor with double cross-bars and ring, dotted border. / Two crossed cornucopia adorned with ribbons, caduceus between, dots above, dotted border. Hendin 1188.

"1/2:"



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. BACIΛEΩCHPΩΔOY in concentric circles (name of Herod the King), dotted border. / Anchor within a circle decorated with vertical lines or rays. Green patina. Reference: Hendin 1175.

And speaking of the 1/2 prutah (and returning to the "leptons of Alexander Jannaeus" thread theme), here are two more examples of Hendin 1153. As @Deacon Ray pointed out, these are good candidates for the "widow's mite" type. These coins of Jannaeus or his successors are found in many varieties, and had an average weight of only 0.8 g.

(@dougsmit, the top one is somewhat "square-shaped," but it is not nearly as angular overall as your prutah!)