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Home ▸ Catalog ▸ |Judean & Biblical Coins| ▸ |Hasmonean Dynasty| ▸ |Alexander Jannaeus||View Options:   | | | Aristobulus' was succeeded by his eldest brother, Alexander Jannæus, who was freed from prison, together with his two brothers, by Aristobulus' widow, Queen Salome Alexandra - "And now the king's wife loosed the king's brethren, and made Alexander king, who appeared both elder in age, and more moderate in his temper than the rest." (Josephus, Wars, I, IV:1). To expend his territory, Jannaeus, immediately attacked Ake-Ptolemais, which called Ptolemy of Cyprus to its aid. When it looked as though Jannaeus would be crushed, Cleopatra III of Egypt intervened, driving out her son-and-rival Ptolemy and reluctantly leaving Jannaeus with both Judaea and Ptolemais. Other conquests brought Jannaeus into conflict with Obadas I of Nabataea who soundly defeated him in 90 B.C. Jannaeus became the first High Priest to also hold the title of king, which met with disapproval of many religious Jews. Severely unpopular, he was pelted with citrons (etrog) on the Festival of Tabernacles (Sukkot) and according to Josephus, "being enraged at this, he killed some 6,000." A full scale revolt erupted and rebels called for the aid of the Seleucid King Demetrius II of Damascus in 88 B.C. Demetrius met Jannaeus with an army of 3,000 horse and 14,000 - 40,000 foot soldiers, forcing him into the mountains. At Demetrus' withdrawal, however, Jannaeus gathered reinforcements and re-established his authority, crucifying 800 rebels who were forced to watch the slaughter of their wives and children from their crosses (Josepus, Ant. XIII:380). After the Nabataean king Aretas gained control of Damascus, he used his new power base to inflict a final attack on Jannaeus, forcing the concession of a number of Hellenized towns before Jannaeus' death in 76 B.C. |
Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow put more into the treasury than all the others. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on." (Mark 12:43-44)JD111752. Bronze lepton, Meshorer Group K19; Hendin 6189c; HGC 10 637 var. (inscription on obv.), VF, dark green patina, earthen deposits, obv. double struck, rev. off center, weight 1.334 g, maximum diameter 15.7 mm, Jerusalem mint, c. 95 - 76 B.C.; obverse star of eight rays and central pellet, no visible diadem, no visible Paleo-Hebrew inscription; reverse blundered Greek legend: BAΣIΛEΩΣ AΛEΞANΔPOY (of King Alexander), upside-down anchor with ring at end; ex CNG e-auction 510 (23 Feb 2022), lot 280; ex Dr. Jay M. Galst Collection, ex Herb Kreindler (Aug 1986);
Judean Kingdom, Alexander Jannaeus (Yehonatan), 104 - 76 B.C., Widow's Mite
Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow put more into the treasury than all the others. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on." (Mark 12:43-44)JD111755. Bronze lepton, Hendin 6191a, Meshorer TJC L3, Meshorer AJC I Cd1, HGC 10 644, Cohen DCA 803, VF, dark green-brown patina, earthen deposits, obv. off center, scratches, reverse edge beveled, sprue remnant, weight 1.448 g, maximum diameter 16.0 mm, Jerusalem mint, 80 - 79 B.C.; obverse Aramaic inscription: King Alexander year 25, star of eight rays and central pellet within circle of dots; reverse Greek legend: BAΣIΛEΩΣ AΛEΞANΔPOY (of King Alexander), upside-down anchor within linear circle, no date; ex CNG e-auction 510 (23 Feb 2022), lot 281; ex Dr. Jay M. Galst Collection, ex ILM (Apr 1987);
Judean Kingdom, Alexander Jannaeus (Yehonatan), 104 - 76 B.C., Plate Coin
Lead tesserae (tokens) were likely issued by the monarch to the poor to be redeemed for food or other commodities. Meshorer reports the lead tesserae of Alexander Jannaeus are found almost exclusively in Transjordan. This is the plate coin in Meshorer's Jewish Coins of the Second Temple Period (Tel-Aviv, 1967), at which time the coin was in the Grosswirth Collection.JD111754. Lead tessera, Meshorer 2nd Temple pl. II, 7 (this coin), Hendin 6192 (S), Meshorer TJC M, Meshorer AJC D, HGC 10 645, gF, green-gray surfaces, earthen deposits, cleaning scratches, weight 4.019 g, maximum diameter 18.5 mm, Transjordan mint, 95 - 76 B.C.; obverse Greek legend: BAΣIΛEΩΣ AΛEΞANΔPOY (of King Alexander), anchor (upside-down as if hanging on the side of a boat), inside circle; reverse traces of Aramaic inscription, King Alexander, in three lines, within a border of dots; ex CNG e-auction 510 (23 Feb 2022), lot 283; ex Dr. Jay M. Galst Collection; Herb Kreindler (May 1985); ex E. Grosswirth Collection ; very scarce;
Judean Kingdom, Alexander Jannaeus (Yehonatan), 104 - 76 B.C., Overstrike
This type has been reattributed from Hyrcanus II to Alexander Jannaeus by Hendin and Shachar in "The Identity of YNTN on Hasmonean Overstruck Coins and the Chronology of the Alexander Jannaeus Types," Israel Numismatic Research 3, 2008: 87-94. It appears this type was overstruck on earlier coins of Alexander Jannaeus that had never been released from the mint.JD111360. Bronze prutah, Hendin 6185a, Meshorer TJC T, Meshorer AJC I; undertype Hendin 6184 (Jannaeus, lily/anchor), VF, overstruck, earthen deposits, reverse edge beveled, remnants of sprues/cuts, weight 2.167 g, maximum diameter 15.5 mm, die axis 180o, Jerusalem mint, 103 - 76 B.C.; obverse Paleo-Hebrew inscription: Yonatan the High Priest and the Council of the Jews, within wreath, struck over anchor; reverse two cornucopias splayed outward, adorned with ribbons, pomegranate or poppy between the horns, struck over lily;
Judean Kingdom, Alexander Jannaeus (Yehonatan), 104 - 76 B.C.
Unpopular, Jannaeus was pelted with citrons on Sukkot. Enraged, he killed some 6,000 citizens. A revolt erupted and rebels called on the Seleucid King Demetrius III for aid. Demetrius forced him into the mountains but then withdrew. Back in power, Jannaeus crucified 800 rebels forcing them to watch the slaughter of their wives and children from their crosses.JD111358. Bronze prutah, Hendin 6181, Meshorer TJC P, Meshorer AJC E, HGC 10 638, VF, dark green patina, highlighting earthen deposits, off center, small flan casting void, weight 1.435 g, maximum diameter 12.4 mm, die axis 0o, Jerusalem mint, 104 - 76 B.C.; obverse Paleo-Hebrew inscription within wreath: Yehonatan the High Priest and the Council of the Jews; reverse two cornucopias splayed outward, adorned with ribbons, pomegranate or poppy between the horns;
Unpopular, Jannaeus was pelted with citrons on Sukkot. Enraged, he killed some 6,000 citizens. A revolt erupted and rebels called on the Seleucid King Demetrius III for aid. Demetrius forced him into the mountains but then withdrew. Back in power, Jannaeus crucified 800 rebels forcing them to watch the slaughter of their wives and children from their crosses.JD111161. Bronze prutah, Hendin 6180, Meshorer TJC Q, Meshorer AJC F, HGC 10 639, VF, dark patina, highlighting earthen deposits, rev. off center, weight 1.695 g, maximum diameter 13.6 mm, die axis 0o, Jerusalem mint, 104 - 76 B.C.; obverse Paleo-Hebrew inscription: Yehonatan the High Priest and the Council of the Jews, surrounded by wreath; reverse two cornucopias splayed outward, adorned with ribbons, pomegranate or poppy between the horns;
The prutah was equal in value to 1/2 a Roman quadrans. -- Talmud Jerus., Kedushin 58d, written c. 200 A.D.JD111162. Bronze prutah, Hendin 6181, Meshorer TJC P, Meshorer AJC E, HGC 10 638, VF, dark brown tone, highlighting earthen deposits, ragged sprue cut, tiny edge splits, reverse edge beveled, weight 1.561 g, maximum diameter 14.2 mm, die axis 0o, Jerusalem mint, 103 - 76 B.C.; obverse Paleo-Hebrew inscription: Yehonatan the High Priest and the Council of the Jews, within wreath; reverse two cornucopias splayed outward, adorned with ribbons, pomegranate or poppy between the horns; from the Michael Arslan Collection;
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 this type.JD111166. Bronze prutah, Hendin 6186, Meshorer TJC S, HGC 10 641, F, dark patina, highlighting earthen deposits, obv. edge beveled, weight 1.629 g, maximum diameter 14.3 mm, die axis 45o, Jerusalem mint, 104 - 76 B.C.; obverse barbaric style Paleo-Hebrew inscription: Yonatan the High Priest and the Council of the Jews, surrounded by wreath; reverse two cornucopias splayed outward, adorned with ribbons, pomegranate or poppy between the horns; from the Michael Arslan Collection;
The prutah was equal in value to 1/2 a Roman quadrans. -- Talmud Jerus., Kedushin 58d, written c. 200 A.D.JD111462. Bronze prutah, Hendin 6181, Meshorer TJC P, Meshorer AJC E, HGC 10 638, aVF, green patina, highlighting earthen deposits, weight 2.318 g, maximum diameter 13.9 mm, die axis 0o, Jerusalem mint, 103 - 76 B.C.; obverse Paleo-Hebrew inscription: Yehonatan the High Priest and the Council of the Jews, within wreath; reverse two cornucopias splayed outward, adorned with ribbons, pomegranate or poppy between the horns;
The prutah was equal in value to 1/2 a Roman quadrans. -- Talmud Jerus., Kedushin 58d, written c. 200 A.D.JD111148. Bronze prutah, Hendin 6181, Meshorer TJC P, Meshorer AJC E, HGC 10 638, F, dark patina, highlighting earthen deposits, reverse edge beveled, prominent incomplete sprue cut, weight 1.830 g, maximum diameter 13.6 mm, die axis 0o, Jerusalem mint, 103 - 76 B.C.; obverse Paleo-Hebrew inscription: Yehonatan the High Priest and the Council of the Jews, within wreath; reverse two cornucopias splayed outward, adorned with ribbons, pomegranate or poppy between the horns; from the Michael Arslan Collection;
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