Featured The First Jewish Coin and its Modern Descendent

RAGNAROK · Mar 19, 2017

Curtisimo said: ↑

A recent trip to Israel got me interested in researching some of the numismatic history of the region. I acquired the excellent coin shown below from @red_spork after my attempts to import a similar example were thwarted at customs. Long Post Warning!

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Obverse: Paleo-Hebrew inscription in wreath; Greek letter alpha above

Reverse: Double cornucopia with a pomegranate between horns

Coinage has a long history in Judea dating back to the time of the Persian Empire when a Jewish mint was allowed to operate with the permission of Persian officials. Many of the earliest coins of this period are imitations of other common Mediterranean types such as the Persian “Archer” and the Athenian “Owl” [1]. These coins often bear the letters “YHD” (Yehud=Judah) and contain local design elements such as the pomegranate or lily to refer to Judah or Jerusalem. Later, under Greek control, the region minted coins in the name of Alexander the Great, the Ptolemys of Egypt and finally the Seluecids of Syria. A transitional style of coinage was issued in Jerusalem in the name of the Seleucid ruler during the brief period ca. 130 BC when the Hasmonean kingdom was brought back into Seleucid control during the early reign of John Hyrcanus I [2].

So why do I say that the above is the first truly Jewish coin? Well, the Prutahs of John Hyrcanus I are the first coins issued by a Jewish ruler in his own name and are notable in that they depict imagery sensitive to Jewish customs [2] [5]. The coins lack any depictions of humans or animals which indicates they were designed with the Jewish prohibition against graven images in mind. The obverse inscription reads as follows;
View attachment 598685
John Hyrcanus was the nephew of the Jewish leader Judas Maccabaeus, who is famous for cleansing the Temple of Jerusalem during the Maccabean Revolt in an event that is celebrated with the festival of Hanukkah. The family of Judas, known collectively as the Hasmoneans, would serve as religious and secular leaders in Judea for over a century. The above inscription seems to indicate that Hyrcanus derived his power from his religious responsibilities and partially shared his secular authority with a Jewish council. His son Aristobolus, would later be accused of starving his own mother to death in a bid to take the title of king, or “basileus,” outright [3]. One interesting item to note is the inclusion of the Greek letter alpha at the top of the inscription on some of these coin types which we will discuss a bit more below.

During the latter part of his reign, John Hyrcanus would be responsible for an impressive expansion of Judean territory in the region. The below map shows the major military expeditions that were executed under his leadership. His conquest of the region known as Idumea to the south of Jerusalem marks the first instance in recorded history of non-Jews being converted to Judaism [3].
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While the later years of his reign were marked by a great deal of success and expansion, the same cannot be said of his early reign. In order to understand the challenges of these early years and why it is so amazing that he was able to mint his own coins at all (and why they are all a fractional bronze type) it is necessary to introduce you to another member of my collection; Antiochos VII Sidetes.
View attachment 598690
Antiochos VII Sidetes, AR Tetradrachm (28mm, 13.74 g) dated SE 182 (131/0 BC). Tyre mint

Obverse: Diadem and draped bust right

Reverse: Eagle standing left on prow; palm frond behind; club and Tyre monogram at left, date at right.

Anthiochos VII is considered the last great Seleucid ruler (138 – 129 BC) for his efforts to stabilize the fragmenting Seleucid Empire. In the year 132 BC he turned his attention to Judea in an effort to reassert Seleucid authority over the rebellious kingdom. He laid a devastating siege to Jerusalem in that year and many signs of this struggle are still visible in Jerusalem to this day as you can see from the following images.
View attachment 598703
Model of Jerusalem from the later Herodian period showing the location of the temple and the Hasmonean Era fortress
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Panorama of Jerusalem’s Old City taken from the Tower of David. The former site of the temple is near the Dome of the Rock in the right background
View attachment 598702
Tower of David, Jerusalem – Site of a Hasmonean Era fortress showing the location of the original walls
View attachment 598713
Ballista balls used to attack the walls during the Seige of Jerusalem (132 BC) – Depiction of a Greek ballista of the type used during the siege
View attachment 598715
Me at the temple mount in front of the architecturally significant Dome of the Rock – Near the site of the Second Temple which was the source of Hasmonean authority

According to the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, in order to lift the siege and spare the city, John Hyrcanus I was forced to destroy parts of the city walls, pay ongoing tribute to the Seleucids, offer up hostages, agree to assist in fighting the Parthians and to pay an enormous ransom of 3000 talents of silver [3]. This was a huge blow to the Judean economy and even necessitated taking silver from the tomb of King David according to Josephus [3]. How much is 3000 talents? Assuming that Josephus’s description is referring to something close to an Attic talent you can multiply a 1000 oz silver bar (roughly 120% of a talent) by 2,508 and you start to get the idea. That is enough silver to completely fill a room that is 8’x8’x8½’ or more than the maximum weight of 2 fully loaded 18 wheelers or a fully armored M1 Abrams Tank. In today’s silver market it would be worth about $45.3 million.

The devastating loss of silver resources after the siege may have led the Judeans to continue coining fractional bronze denominations instead of issuing their own silver shekels. Interestingly, the Antiochus VII tetradrachm shown above was minted in Tyre just after the siege and it is interesting to speculate that it may have been struck with silver acquired from the siege. In the decades and centuries that followed, the famous Shekels of Tyre would become the dominant silver piece in the region and a Jewish silver coin would not materialize until AD 66 during the Jewish Revolt [2]. It wasn’t until after the death of Antiochos VII at the hands of the Parthians ca. 129 BC that Judea would be able to reassert its independence and begin minting its own bronze coinage. It has been speculated that the Greek letter “A” on the obverse of some of the John Hyrcanus prutahs may be a reference to an alliance with a pretender to the Seleucid throne by the name of Alexander Zabinas [4] [5]. This alliance would have made sense to the Hasmoneans as it was in their best interest to help foster the civil strife that exploded within the Seleucid Empire upon the death of Antiochos VII.

In 2007 the government of Israel decided to pay homage to the design of the intriguing coins of John Hyrcanus I with the issue of the 2 NIS coin shown below. It has a few bumps and scratches but as a common circulating coin that is interesting only for the design I like being able to say I pulled it from circulation in its country of origin.
View attachment 598719
Israel 2 New Sheqalim (NIS) – 2009

Obverse: Double cornucopia filled with fruit and grain, pomegranate between; pearls around top half; State symbol above.

Reverse: Words 2 New Sheqalim and Israel written in Hebrew, Arabic and English; Date in Hebrew; Pearls around top half.

So what do you all think of my newest acquisitions? I think there is a lot of room for fun posts on this one but I’ll make a few suggestions. Post your;

· Coins that are the first of their kind!

· Coins from Judea! Looking at you @Deacon Ray

· Coins from the late Seleucid Empire!

· Ancient/Modern design pairs!

· Anything you want! Anything at all!

[1] http://www.muenze-und-macht.at/showcases/showcase1?language=en

[2] http://www.mefacts.com/cache/html/israel/10080.htm

[3] http://sacred-texts.com/jud/josephus/

[4] http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/hasmonean-macabbean-coins

[5] http://coinproject.com/jan/volume1/issue1/volume1-1-3.html
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RAGNAROK · Apr 13, 2017

Hey, "Curti", a cheaper trip...

Curtisimo · Apr 13, 2017

RAGNAROK said: ↑

Hey, "Curti", a cheaper trip...

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That's awesome. I love virtual reality of the ancient sites. I wish I would have seen this before I went as it helps to visualize. Models are helpful also.

RAGNAROK · Apr 13, 2017

and funny...
https://littlstar.com/videos/2f6f2520

RAGNAROK · Apr 13, 2017

https://littlstar.com/cx-israel-vr

RAGNAROK · Apr 13, 2017

Happy easter!

Aethelred · Apr 14, 2017

This is an epic post, well done!

Cucumbor · Apr 14, 2017

I just came accross this thread (for some reason I missed it in first place) : really awesome writting. Thank you very much Curtis

Q

Curtisimo · Apr 14, 2017

Aethelred said: ↑

This is an epic post, well done!
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Cucumbor said: ↑

I just came accross this thread (for some reason I missed it in first place) : really awesome writting. Thank you very much Curtis

Q
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Thanks guys! I know that Q has at least one coin that is the first of its kind... a certain beautiful didrachm

HOWARD GOTKIN · Apr 14, 2017

Good Stuff!!

Deacon Ray · Apr 14, 2017

John Anthony said: ↑

...double cornucopias...Nabataeans were quite fond of it...A few examples...
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This is a great post, John! I don't know how I missed it. You have some types that I've never seen before.

Deacon Ray · Apr 14, 2017

RAGNAROK said: ↑

...cheaper trip...
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Very nice!

Tmcoin · May 7, 2017

Great post. Here are some of my favorite Judean coins. The first shows King Agrippa I sacrificing a pig with Claudius in a ceremony referenced by Josephus. The second is a coin of his son "celebrating" the Roman victory over the revolt by the Jews. They reflect that the Jewish world was no less complicated then as it is now !

TIF · May 7, 2017

Welcome, @Tmcoin!

Impressive-- one post and you've already pledged as a CoinTalk "Supporter"

stevex6 · May 7, 2017

Welcome Tim => I also love the supporter-part (Hell of an entrance!!)

Ummm but sadly, your coin photos are a bit out of focus ... I'm just sayin'

=> I'm looking forward to more stuff from you (have a great Sunday)

Curtisimo · May 7, 2017

Tmcoin said: ↑

Great post. Here are some of my favorite Judean coins. The first shows King Agrippa I sacrificing a pig with Claudius in a ceremony referenced by Josephus. The second is a coin of his son "celebrating" the Roman victory over the revolt by the Jews. They reflect that the Jewish world was no less complicated then as it is now !
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Thanks @Tmcoin!

Welcome to CT and congrats on becoming a supporter! It took me months to get around to doing that even after I decided I wanted to lol

Even though your photos are a bit out of focus I can tell that they are awesome examples of their type plus to have a coin that is actually referenced in a historical source is extra cool! Great coins!

LaCointessa · May 14, 2017

@Curtisimo
This is such a meaty post. I'm not sure how I ended up here reading your post but I'm glad I found it. I've saved it as a favorite place so I can easily find it again. I know already that I need to reread several parts. It's a wonderful history and coin lesson. The quality of your writing, and the writing on this site in general, is superb. Thank you for taking the time to write this report for us.

Curtisimo · May 14, 2017

LaCointessa said: ↑

@Curtisimo
This is such a meaty post. I'm not sure how I ended up here reading your post but I'm glad I found it. I've saved it as a favorite place so I can easily find it again. I know already that I need to reread several parts. It's a wonderful history and coin lesson. The quality of your writing, and the writing on this site in general, is superb. Thank you for taking the time to write this report for us.
Click to expand...

Thank you @LaCointessa for the very nice words. I'm very glad that you enjoyed my post.

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Featured The First Jewish Coin and its Modern Descendent

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Featured The First Jewish Coin and its Modern Descendent

RAGNAROK Naebody chaws me wi impunitY

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RAGNAROK Naebody chaws me wi impunitY

Aethelred The Old Dead King

Cucumbor Well-Known Member

Curtisimo the Great(ish)

HOWARD GOTKIN Member

Deacon Ray Artist & Historian Supporter

Deacon Ray Artist & Historian Supporter

Tmcoin New Member

Attached Files:

IMG_0236.JPG

IMG_0361.JPG

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TIF Always learning.

stevex6 Random Mayhem

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