I have recently purchased a CY162 Tyrian half-shekel from Incitatus Coins (picture at
https://images.vcoins.com/product_image/79/T/Tnp7eP5rwzB9y6TE8ZdsKd4o2njQSH.jpg; nice guy, would definitely recommend!), and I'm starting to do a
bit of research into it. The seller was unsure of its
provenance, but told me he bought it several years ago from a dealer in
France.
PHOENICIA, Tyre AR silver half
shekel, 19mm, 7.0g. Tyre, or Jerusalem (as
per Meshorer), dated CY 162 (36-37 CE). Laureate
head of Melkart right,
lion skin around neck.
Reverse -
Eagle standing left on prow;
palm frond in background; to left, PΞB (date) above club; to right, KP above XX; Phoenician A between legs. DCA-Tyre 385 (same dies as illustration, also a die match for
Triton XXV, #6161);
RPC I 4695;
HGC 10, 358;
DCA 922.
According to DCA-Tyre Rel. 2, it looks like it might be a die match for
Israel Antiquities Authority, ISF-IAA 9036.
I corresponded with Dr. C. Meir of the KNP, and she sent me her article about the half-shekels they have. Two of them (#243 and #247) also seem to be die matches. I've also corresponded with Dr. D.
Ariel, who told me to contact Dr. R. Kool to see the ISF-IAA 9036 coin. Next time I'm in Jerusalem, I plan to do that.
Does anyone know what happened to the
Isfiya hoard? I have a feeling, based on these three die matches, that my coin might have come from it.
From what I've read, there were ~4500 coins, of which:
- 300 went to KNP
- 158 went to the
Maritime Museum in Haifa
- > 800 went to the
Israel Government Medals and Coins Corporation (what did they do with so many?)
- 64 went to the Kibbutz Hanita Museum
- 81 went to the
Hecht Museum
- 727 remain in the IAA
collection (are these the ISF-IAA?)
- 88 were sold by Better
That leaves >2000 coins unaccounted for. Were they dispersed on the open market?
