What year is this coin from

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by SorenCoins, Mar 27, 2015.

  1. SorenCoins

    SorenCoins Well-Known Member

    I bought it because it was an ancient jeruselum coin but I want to know what type of ancient coin it is
     

    Attached Files:

  2. Avatar

    Guest User Guest



    to hide this ad.
  3. doug5353

    doug5353 Well-Known Member

    Nobody will have the slightest idea what's on that tiny lump...
     
  4. cpm9ball

    cpm9ball CANNOT RE-MEMBER

  5. TIF

    TIF Always learning.

    It a bit difficult to give specifics based on your pictures, but it appears to be an ancient bronze coin of Judaea. Depending on the weight, it is either a lepton (plural "lepta"; popularly called "widow's mite") or prutah (plural "prutot"). My guess based on the pictures is lepton.

    For additional details including whether your coin might be a fake, better images are needed.
     
    Last edited: Mar 27, 2015
    Mikey Zee likes this.
  6. stevex6

    stevex6 Random Mayhem

    SorenCoins, I'm sure somebody will help ya, if the photo is a bit better ...

    => could you zoom-in a bit so we can see a bit more of your coin? ... oh, and perhaps give us the diameter and/or the coin's weight ... that would be helpful

    Cheers!!
     

    Attached Files:

  7. coinman1234

    coinman1234 Not a Well-Known Member

    I what looks like the design of a "Widows Mite" coin.

    Pretty cool


    Around 100 BCish
     
  8. SorenCoins

    SorenCoins Well-Known Member

    How much does lepton weigh and how much does a prutah weigh
     
    coinman1234 likes this.
  9. SorenCoins

    SorenCoins Well-Known Member

    My scale is bad it doesn't show decimals and it shows that the coin weighs 0 grams but it would actually weigh0. Something
     
    stevex6 likes this.
  10. SorenCoins

    SorenCoins Well-Known Member

     

    Attached Files:

    stevex6 likes this.
  11. John Anthony

    John Anthony Ultracrepidarian

    It's a lepton of Alexander Jannaeus, king of Judea from 103 BC to 76 BC.

    This coin is very likely the "widow's mite" that Jesus references in his parable.
     
    SorenCoins likes this.
  12. askea

    askea Active Member

    Hmmm, I'm not so sure. If you look at the letters on the reverse I can see BAC in a line, might be a prutah of Herod. It's badly worn but it could be a Hendin 1175.
     
  13. John Anthony

    John Anthony Ultracrepidarian

    You're probably right - I just went with the anchor. I couldn't make out anything on the reverse.
     
  14. askea

    askea Active Member

    Hendin has shown in his book, Guide To Biblical Coins, that the prutah and lepton were not absolute denominations vis-a-vis their weights which vary greatly in individual issues.
    His research suggests, that in Judaea, when coins were struck in the same metal, with the same or very similar designs, they were intended to represent coins of the same denomination.
    The average weight of the small anchor/star coins (presumably lepta) of Alexander Jannaeus is 0.81 grams, but the weight fluctuates from as light as .20 g to 1.70 g.
    Hendin also gives an example of three prutot of the year 5 of Nero weighing 1.49, 2.43, and 3.67 grams. The average weight of this issue is 2.27 g.
     
    Ancientnoob likes this.
  15. askea

    askea Active Member

    I'm positive it is prutah of King Herod the Great, Hendin 1175. Mint of Jerusalem, 40-4 BCE.
    Go to http://www.menorahcoinproject.org/ and check out the HER-11
    series and you will most likely find a very close die match.
     
    Ancientnoob and Mikey Zee like this.
  16. Mikey Zee

    Mikey Zee Delenda Est Carthago

    Way to go askea!!!

    Prutahs, leptons and 'widow mites'---I always have a problem with them when they aren't already attributed....unless they are uncharacteristically in great detail...and easily compared and identified.
     
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page