Meshorer notes for this type, "letter shapes are bizarre and the lines of script are not evenly followed...While on most specimens, the inscription is complete, some time must be devoted to locating all of the characters." This "barbaric" inscription style is unique to coins of this type. The Paleo-Hebrew inscription on this coin reads, from right to left, as follows: YNTN (Yonatan) H (the) / KHN (Priest) GD/L ( high) W (and) (HH)BR (council) / YHD[YM] (Jews). See Reading Judean Coins in NumisWiki. |
SYMBOLS ON THE COINS OF SALOME ALEXANDRA (SHLOMTZION)
Cornucopia: The cornucopia was a hollow animal horn used as a container. One of the most popular religious symbols of the ancient world, the cornucopia is also know as the "horn of plenty." The cornucopia symbolizes abundance and the prosperity of the nation.
Pomegranate: The pomegranate was one of the seven celebrated products of Palestine and among the fruits brought to the temple as offerings of the first-fruits. Two hundred pomegranates decorated each of the two columns in the temple and were an integral part of the sacred vestment of the High Priest, as bells and pomegranates were suspended from his mantle.