Reply to Thread

Message:: [QUOTE="Al Kowsky, post: 4401227, member: 97383"][ATTACH=full]1106093[/ATTACH] Phoenicia - Tyre, 126 BC - AD 66 (struck 96/95 BC), Obverse: Laureate head of Melkart wearing a lion skin around his neck (not visible on this coin). Reverse: Eagle standing on prow, palm frond behind eagle, club of Melkart in left field. AR Shekel: 14.16 gm, 29 mm, 1 h. Photo courtesy of CNG. The handsome autonomous Tyrian shekels were the most widely accepted silver coins circulating throughout the Levant for nearly 200 years because of their consistent weight (14.00-14.25 gm), and high purity. Robert Deutsch did a metallurgical test on 6 of these shekels and their purity averaged 96.16 %. Aramaic, Greek, and Arab speaking people accepted these coins without question. The Tyrian shekel and half shekel were the only coins accepted by the Jews for their annual Temple tax. During the Roman occupation the Tyrian shekel was worth 4 denarii. So why did these coins disappear from circulation?During the Roman occupation the 2nd most common circulating silver coin throughout the Levant was the tetradrachm minted in Antioch, Syria. Within Syria they had a value of 4 Roman denarii, however, outside of Syria they traded at only 3 denarii. Due to dwindling monetary reserves in Rome, Nero made the 1st serious debasement of the denarius of 10 %, increasing the money supply to cover imperial expenses. Nero was also intent on eliminating the competition between the Tyrian shekel and the Antiochene tetradrachm. An early tetradrachm from Nero's reign is pictured below. [ATTACH=full]1106129[/ATTACH] Syria - Antioch, Nero, AD 54 - 68 (struck Ad 56/57), Obverse: Youthful bust of Nero, with oak wreath. Reverse: His mother Agrippina with long braid behind her neck. AR Tetradrachm: 14.32 gm, 27 mm, 12 h. McAlee 253. Photo courtesy of Kunker GmbH & Co. In AD 59/60 Nero instituted a monetary reform in Antioch, Syria with the intention of driving the Tyrian shekel out of circulation. A new tetradrachm was designed and the silver content was increased from 9.15 gm to 11.63 gm, and the silver purity was improved from 63.13 % to 79.39 %. This new tetradrachm was to have a value of 4 denarii throughout the Levant, despite still having less silver than the Tyrian Shekel. [ATTACH=full]1106142[/ATTACH] Syria - Antioch, Nero AD 54 - 68 (struck 62/63). Obverse: Nero with laureate wreath and aegis. Reverse: Eagle on thunderbolt, palm frond in right field. AR tetradrachm: 14.75 gm, 25 mm, 12 h. Ex Michel Prieur collection, #86 (this coin). A.K. Collection The similarity of the reverse design to the Tyrian shekel wasn't accidental. The Roman eagle stayed on the Antioch tetradrachms until they stopped being coined. The next major design change occurred in the reign of Vespasian. The eagle was now holding a laurel wreath in his beak and standing on the club of Melkart, instead of the thunderbolt. The palm frond still remained on the reverse, but on the left side. The resemblance to the Tyrian shekels is growing. [ATTACH=full]1106151[/ATTACH] Syria - Antioch, Vespasian, AD 69 - 79 (struck 69/70). AR tetradrachm: 14.83 gm, 27 mm, 12 h. McAlee 345/3 (this coin). Photo courtesy of Roma Numismatics Ltd. The last of the Tyrian shekels were coined in AD 66, and many of them along with older Antiochene tetradrachms were melted down and used to make debased coinage for Antioch. The next major design change to the reverse occurred in the reign of Hadrian. [ATTACH=full]1106161[/ATTACH] Syria - Antioch, Hadrian, AD 117 - 138 (struck 118). Reverse: Eagle standing on the leg of a sacrificial animal, palm frond in right field. AR Tetradrachm: 13.00 gm, 24 mm, 6 h. McAlee 533. Photo courtesy of Ancient Coin Traders The palm frond is still visible next to the eagle's right wing, but the club of Melkart has been replaced by the leg of a sacrificial animal. The coin is now taking on an Antiochene character. The animal leg derives from an interesting foundation myth. It is said that Seleucus I, a close friend and general for Alexander the Great, had a sacrifice preformed and an eagle carried off the animal's leg and dropped it on the site of the new city of Antioch. On succeeding issues the palm frond, the club of Melkart, and the laurel wreath in the eagle's beak would intermittently appear and be removed. There were many other small design changes to Antiochene tetradrachms too numerous to mention here. One reverse design that deserves to be mentioned is pictured on the coin below. It was first used by Tigranes II of Armenia, 83 - 69 BC, and later copied by a number of Roman emperors. All coins with this reverse are scarce or rare. [ATTACH=full]1106173[/ATTACH] Syria - Antioch, Augustus Caesar, 27 BC - AD 14 (struck 3 BC). Reverse: Tyche of Antioch is seated on a rock, wearing a turreted crown, and holding a palm frond in her right hand. The River Orantes, depicted as a young boy, is swimming beneath her. The design is copied from a famous bronze made  around 300 BC by Eutychides of Sycion, for Antioch. AR Tetradrachm: 15.31 gm, 28 mm, 12 h. McAlee 183. Ex A.K. Collection. Antiochene tetradrachms continued to be minted but they gradually went thru more debasement. The coin pictured below from the reign of Philip I had a silver purity of 27.31 %. [ATTACH=full]1106200[/ATTACH] Syria - Antioch, Philip I, AD 244 - 249 (struck 246), Officina 6. Billon tetradrachm: 13.55 gm, 25,5 mm, 6 h. McAlee 901f (this coin). Ex Michel Prieur Collection. A.K. Collection. The coin pictured below of Philip II, son of Philip I, had a silver purity of 16.58 %. [ATTACH=full]1106202[/ATTACH] Syria - Antioch, Philip II, AD 247 - 249 (struck 248/249). Billon Tetradrachm: 13.37 gm, 27 mm, 6 h. McAlee 1054. A.K. Collection. The mint at Tyre continued to strike debased coinage ending with emperor Macrinus, AD 217 - 218. They would frequently strike presentation issues using motifs from the old autonomous shekels, like the coin pictured below of Caracalla. This coin has a purity of 35 %. [ATTACH=full]1106210[/ATTACH] Phoenicia - Tyre, Caracalla, AD 198 - 217 (struck 213/217). AR Tetradrachm: 14.09 gm, 26 mm, 6 h. Obverse: Bust of Caracalla on eagle's back, club of Melkart in right field. Reverse: Bust of Melkart with lion's skin around shoulders. Photo courtesy of Roma Numismatics Ltd. Ex A.K. Collection. References:The Coins of Roman Antioch, Richard McAlee, 2007. Published by CNG, Lancaster, PA The Syro-Phoenician Tetradrachms and Their Fractions, from 57 BC to AD 253, Michel and Karin Prieur, 2000. Published by CNG, Lancaster, PA Coinage in the Roman Economy, 300 BC to AD 700, Kenneth W. Harl, 1997. Published by John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore & London Jewish Coinage During the First Revolt Against Rome, 66 - 73 CE, Robert Deutsch, 2017, Published by the Archaeological Center, Old Jaffa, Israel  [/QUOTE]

Create my FREE Account!

Log in or Sign up

Reply to Thread

Useful Searches