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Home ▸ Catalog ▸ |Greek Coins| ▸ |Geographic - All Periods| ▸ |Judaea & Palestine||View Options:   | | | Coins of Judaea and Palestine are also presented in our Judean and Biblical catalog section. Here all coins of Judaea and Palestine are grouped together. In our Judean and Biblical catalog section coins are organized by types and rulers and are presented with additional historical information and biblical references. |
Ptolemais is today Acre, Israel. It was at Ptolemais that the Jews met Petronius, sent to set up statues of the emperor in the Temple, and persuaded him to turn back. St. Paul spent a day in Ptolemais (Acts 21:7). -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AkkoGP113579. Bronze diobol, Lorber CPE B338; Svoronos 790 (5 spec.); Rosenberger I p.20, 16; Sofaer pl. 3, 36; Weiser 42; SNG Cop -; Noeske , Choice VF, green patina, earthen deposits, areas of weaker strike, marks, obv. edge beveled, weight 19.353 g, maximum diameter 31.7 mm, die axis 0o, Galilee, Ake Ptolemais (Acre, Israel) mint, 261 - 246 B.C.; obverse diademed head of Zeus Ammon right; reverse ΠTOΛEMAIOY BAΣIΛEΩΣ, eagle standing half left atop fulmen (thunderbolt), head left, wings closed, double cornucopia bound with diadem over shoulder, Pi-Tau ligate inside Omicron (PTO - Ptolemais mintmark) in field; scarce; $800.00 (752.00)
Phoenician, Bronze Trapezoid Cube Weight (Ayin - 21.595g), c. 7th - 4th Century B.C.
This weight is the usual shape for the type, an inverted truncated pyramid - a cube with the bottom slightly smaller than the top. The type dates from perhaps as early as the the 9th century B.C. to the end of the Persian period. They were undoubtedly used to weigh silver bullion for transactions. Kletter lists nine weights with circle marks, ranging from 2.55g to 80.67g. Some, like ours, were incised with straight lines or punches. Most were found at Akko.AS111486. Phoenician, bronze trapezoid cube weight; cf. Hendin Weights 245 (21.63), Kletter 2000 25 (21.17g), Hecht A 47 (20.03g), Choice, 21.595g (3 shekels?), 14.3x16.6x12.9mm, c. 7th - 4th Century B.C.; inverted truncated pyramid (a cube with the bottom slightly smaller than the top), incised circle (Phoenician ayin) on top created with a 8 short straight line cuts, ex Shick Coins (Max Shick, Israel, 2012); $570.00 (535.80)
Judaea, Bar Kochba Revolt, 132 - 135 A.D.
After the defeat of Bar Kochba rebellion, Judea would not be a center of Jewish religious, cultural, or political life again until the modern era, although Jews continued to sporadically populate it and important religious developments still took place there. Galilee became an important center of Rabbinic Judaism, where the Jerusalem Talmud was compiled in the 4th-5th centuries. In the aftermath of the defeat, the maintenance of Jewish settlement in Palestine became a major concern of the rabbinate. The Sages endeavored to halt Jewish dispersal, and even banned emigration from Palestine, branding those who settled outside its borders as idolaters.JD99307. Bronze AE 21, Mildenberg 112 (O10/R76); SNG ANS 570 - 572 (same dies); cf. BMC Palestine p. 307, 31; Sofaer 144; Meshorer TJC 292a; Hendin 6464, VF, dark green patina, earthen deposits, tight flan, small edge cracks, weight 7.709 g, maximum diameter 21.0 mm, die axis 180o, year 3, 134 - 135 A.D.; obverse paleo-Hebrew inscription: "Shimon", seven branched palm tree with two bunches of dates; reverse paleo-Hebrew inscription: "for the freedom of Jerusalem", five-lobed vine-leaf with strongly accentuated ribs, hanging from curved branch, short tendril right; from a private collector in New Jersey; $560.00 (526.40)
Judaea, Bar Kochba Revolt, 132 - 135 A.D.
The Bar Kokhba revolt, led by Simon bar Kokhba, was the last of the major JewishRoman wars. The Roman army suffered heavy losses. It took six full legions, auxiliaries, and elements from as many as six more legions three years to crush the revolt. The Romans annihilated much of the Judean population. In 134, the they captured Jerusalem and Simon bar Kokhba was killed in 135. Legio VI Ferrata rebuilt the legionary fortress in Jerusalem and constructed a Roman temple at Golgotha. An altar to Jupiter was erected on the site of the Temple. The Jewish diaspora began as Hadrian barred Jews from Jerusalem and had survivors of the massacre dispersed across the Roman Empire. Many were sold into slavery. The Jewish people remained scattered without a homeland for close to two millennia.JD113058. Bronze AE 27, Mildenberg 42 (O1/R9); Sofaer p. 177 & pl. 227, 7; Hendin 6407(b?); SNG ANS 508; Meshorer TJC 222; BMC Palestine p. 305, 23, aVF, overstruck (perhaps on a coin with a Legion X countermark?), some corrosion/encrustation, weight 12.793 g, maximum diameter 26.7 mm, die axis 135o, year 1, 132 - 133 A.D.; obverse even branched palm tree with two bunches of dates; Paleo-Hebrew inscription across fields: "Simon Prince of Israel"; reverse Paleo-Hebrew inscription: "Year one for the redemption of Israel", vine leaf on tendril; rare; $550.00 (517.00)
Judaea, Bar Kochba Revolt, 132 - 135 A.D.
After the defeat of Bar Kochba rebellion, Judea would not be a center of Jewish religious, cultural, or political life again until the modern era, although Jews continued to sporadically populate it and important religious developments still took place there. Galilee became an important center of Rabbinic Judaism, where the Jerusalem Talmud was compiled in the 4th-5th centuries. In the aftermath of the defeat, the maintenance of Jewish settlement in Palestine became a major concern of the rabbinate. The Sages endeavored to halt Jewish dispersal, and even banned emigration from Palestine, branding those who settled outside its borders as idolaters.JD111103. Bronze AE 27, Mildenberg 106 (O08/R70); cf. Meshorer TJC 292; BMC Palestine p. 312, 80; SNG ANS 572; Hendin 6464, F, uneven strike with some legend unstruck, weight 10.386 g, maximum diameter 24.8 mm, die axis 180o, year 3, 134 - 135 A.D.; obverse paleo-Hebrew inscription: "Shimon", seven branched palm tree with two bunches of dates; reverse paleo-Hebrew inscription: "for the freedom of Jerusalem", five-lobed vine-leaf with strongly accentuated ribs, hanging from curved branch, short tendril right; $430.00 (404.20)
Persian Empire, Samaria, c. 375 - 332 B.C.
Samaria was the capital of the northern Kingdom of Israel in the 9th - 8th centuries B.C. The Assyrians took the city and the northern kingdom in 722/721 B.C. The city did not recover until the Persian period, the mid 5th century. The tensions between the ruling Sanballat family and Jerusalem under the governorship of Nehemiah are documented in the Bible (Ezra 4:10, Neh 4:78). Samaria became Hellenistic in 332 B.C. Thousands of Macedonian soldiers were settled there following a revolt. The Judaean king John Hyrcanus destroyed Samaria in 108 B.C., but it was resettled under Alexander Jannaeus. In 63 B.C., Samaria was annexed to the Roman province of Syria. Herod the Great fortified the city and renamed it Sebaste. The ruins are located in the Samaria mountains almost 10 km to the northwest of Nablus.GS110668. Silver ma'ah-obol, Meshorer-Qedar 188, Sofaer 165, HGC 10 -, Sunrise -, Hendin -, SNG ANS -, VF, centered, toned, light marks, die break upper reverse, weight 0.614 g, maximum diameter 9.7 mm, die axis 180o, Samaria (Sebastia, West Bank) mint, c. 375 - 332 B.C.; obverse head of the satrap right, bearded, wearing Kyrbasia (Persian tiara); reverse head right, bare-headed, bearded; ex Gorny & Mosch auction 289 (10 Oct 2022), lot 422; ex Gert Cleff Collection (Wuppertal); ex Italo Vecchi (London) auction 10 (24-25 Mar 1998), lot 436; rare; $400.00 (376.00)
Hadrian, 11 August 117 - 10 July 138 A.D., Ascalon, Philistia, Judaea, Extremely Rare Duel Dated Variant
RPC Online III notes of their specimen, "The date does seem to begin with E, even though one would expect ς with year 4 of the second era. Confirmation required. If correctly read, it might show that the Hadrianic era began at a different time of year from the normal city era, or it might just be a mistake, as commonly happened at Gaza." Our coin appears to have the expected date, but with a reversed ς.RP111379. Bronze AE 24, Unpublished variant, RPC Online III 4014A var. (EKC, the only known specimen), VF, attractive highlighting earthen deposits, rev. off center, weight 12.265 g, maximum diameter 23.5 mm, die axis 0o, Askalon (Ashqelon, Israel) mint, 132 - 133 A.D.; obverse CEBAC-TOC (starting counterclockwise on right, ending counterclockwise on left), laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind; reverse ACKΛAW upward on left, Tyche-Astarte standing half left on prow, head left, vexillum standard in right hand, aphlaston in left hand, LΔ (year 4 [of Hadrian]) over incense altar inner left; dove standing left over ΣKC ([year] 226 [of Ascalon], Σ reversed) lower right; extremely rare; $400.00 (376.00)
Persian Empire, Gaza, Philistia, c. 353 - 331 B.C., Imitative of Athens Pi-Style
The Aramaic letter Mem is the symbol of Marnas, deity of Gaza. This type and other similar silver types struck under Persian rule are often described as drachms but we follow Hendin who refers to the local coinage of Philistia, Samaria and Yehud with the names that might have been used at the time they circulated. This type can be dated to about a 20 year period. It imitates the "Pi-Style" tetradrachms first struck at Athens in 353 B.C. and would not have been struck after Alexander the Great's conquest of Gaza in 331 B.C.GS114664. Silver quarter shekel, cf. Gitler & Tal V.25D, Hendin 6010 (RR), HGC 10 542 (R2), F, rough, toned, oval flan, weight 3.590 g, maximum diameter 15.8 mm, die axis 270o, Gaza mint, c. 353 - 331 B.C.; obverse helmeted head of Athena right, with profile eye, olive leaves and pi-style floral ornament on crested helmet, large round earring, mem on cheek; reverse owl standing right, head facing, olive spray and crescent upper left, AΘE downward on right, all within incuse square; ex CNG mail bid auction 84 (5 May 2010), lot 737 (part of); ex Dr. Patrick H.C. Tan Collection; very rare; $250.00 (235.00)
Lot of 5 Judaean Kingdom, John Hyrcanus I (Yehohanan), 134 - 104 B.C., Struck for Antiochus VII
Struck by John Hyrcanus, King of Judaea, in the name of the Seleukid King Antiochos VII, Euergetes (Sidetes). John Hyrcanus was the son of Simon the Maccabee and nephew of the folk hero Judah Maccabee, the hero of the Hanukkah story. Soon after Hyrcanus assumed power, the Seleukid king marched on Jerusalem. Antiochus VII and Hyrcanus I negotiated a treaty that left Hyrcanus a vassal to the Syrian king. Probably as a conciliatory gesture to the Jews, the lily (a symbol of Jerusalem) replaced the head of the Seleukid king. Later, John Hyrcanus would be the first Jewish ruler to issue coins in his own name.JD114557. Bronze prutah, cf. Houghton-Lorber II 2123, Hendin 6165, HGC 9 1103, Meshorer TJC p. 30, mostly gF, nice attractive specimens, c. 14-15mm, Jerusalem mint, 132 - 130 B.C.; obverse lily on stem with two leaves, dot border; reverse BAΣIΛEΩΣ ANTIOXOY EYEPΓETOY (Greek: of King Antiochus, Benefactor), anchor, upside down, Greek year (of the Seleucid Era) below; $225.00 (211.50)
Judean Kingdom, Herod the Great, 37 - 4 B.C.
Matthew (2:1-23) describes the Massacre of the Innocents. Wise men from the East visited Herod to inquire the whereabouts of "the one having been born king of the Jews," because they had seen his star. Herod, as King of the Jews, was alarmed. The chief priests, citing Micah 5:2, told Herod the anointed one would be born in Bethlehem. Herod sent the "wise men" to Bethlehem, instructing them to "report to me, so that I too may go and worship him." However, the Magi were warned in a dream not to report back to Herod. Joseph was warned in a dream that Herod intended to kill Jesus, so he and his family fled to Egypt. When Herod realized he had been outwitted, he gave orders to kill all boys of the age of two and under in Bethlehem and its vicinity. Joseph and his family stayed in Egypt until Herod's death, then moved to Nazareth. Herod was guilty of many brutal acts, including killing his wife and two sons, but no other source from the period refers to the massacre. Bethlehem was a small village, the number of male children under the age of two might not have exceed 20, and this may be the reason for the lack of other sources for this history.JD114512. Copper eight prutot, Hendin 6204; Meshorer TJC 44; Meshorer AJC II 1; BMC Palestine p. 220, 1; RPC I 4901; HGC 10 651, F, near black patina with highlighting blue-green deposits, uneven strike with weak areas, rev. edge beveled, edge splits, weight 6.120 g, maximum diameter 23.6 mm, die axis 45o, Samaria mint, 40 - 37 B.C.; obverse HPΩΔOY BAΣIΛEΩΣ (Greek: of King Herod), tripod with ceremonial bowl (lebes), LΓ -
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