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Home ▸ Catalog ▸ |Judean & Biblical Coins| ▸ |Biblical Coins| ▸ |Cities in the Bible||View Options:  |  |  |   

Cities in the Bible

The coins below were minted by cities that are mentioned in the bible. Click here to read about the travels of Paul.

Marcus Aurelius, 7 March 161 - 17 March 180 A.D., Bostra, Decapolis

|Marcus| |Aurelius|, |Marcus| |Aurelius,| |7| |March| |161| |-| |17| |March| |180| |A.D.,| |Bostra,| |Decapolis||AE| |16|
Portraits of the young Marcus Aurelius as Caesar are a favorite among many collectors.
RY13610. Bronze AE 16, Spijkerman 20, gF, weight 1.73 g, maximum diameter 16.1 mm, die axis 0o, Bostra (Bosra, Syria) mint, as caesar, 138 - 161 A.D.; obverse AYPHΛIOC KAICAP, bare headed cuirassed bust right; reverse TYXHN TPAI BOC, turreted and draped bust of Tyche right; price reduced to Forum's cost!; rare; SOLD


Gaza, Philistia, Autonomous Period, c. 108/107 - 30 B.C.

|Judaea| |&| |Palestine|, |Gaza,| |Philistia,| |Autonomous| |Period,| |c.| |108/107| |-| |30| |B.C.||AE| |20|
Gaza's long and rich history as an important port and link in the Incense Route is largely one of subjugation, but beginning around 108/107 B.C., the city apparently was granted autonomous status by the Seleucid king, Antiochus VIII. This act was in line with other bestowals of autonomy to several of Gaza's coastal neighbors (e.g. Sidon and Ascalon) around the same time. The present coin, although undated, is believed by Oliver Hoover in a footnote to his 2007 Schweizerische Numismatische Rundschau article "The Dated Coinage of Gaza in Historical Context (264/3 BC - AD 241/2)," to have been struck right before the city's earliest known dated civic issues, of SE 205 (108/107 B.C.). Autonomous coinage would continue to be sporadically produced down to 43/42 B.C., during which time (and for many years before) its "freedom" was dictated by the Romans. In 30 B.C., they added the city to Herod the Great's Judaean kingdom.

ΔHMOY ΓAΞAIΩN is commonly translated as "of the Demos of the Gazaeans" (or similar). This would make sense if the personification so invoked was present pictorially somewhere on our coin. Instead, the head on the obverse, identified as Zeus's by a string of numismatic authorities stretching all the way from Sestini and Mionnet to the present, is sometimes seen with a scepter behind, as on some (or all?) the specimens of the left-leaning double cornucopia variety (e.g. Sofaer 30). An attribution to Demos is therefore unlikely. The alternative interpretation "of the people of the Gazaeans" sounds awkwardly redundant to our modern ears, but is perhaps more accurate, stressing the coin was issued by "the people" and not some authority above the Gazaeans. In reading the long version of their bold statement of autonomy (i.e. ΔHMOY ΓAΞAIΩN IEP[AΣ] AΣY[ΛOY]), the Sofaer authors treated the ethnic more along the lines of an adjective: "of the Gazaean people, sacred [and] inviolable."
GB13853. Bronze AE 20, Sofaer 30; Rosenberger 27; HGC 10 585; BMC Palestine p. 143, 1 & 3 var. (horns r.); Mi Supp 8, no. 47 var. (obv. star; horns r.; leg. arr.), aF, uneven strike on oblong flan with casting sprue and attractive sandy sediments; some roughness on rev., weight 4.581 g, maximum diameter 19.8 mm, die axis 0o, Gaza mint, c. late 2nd century B.C.; obverse laureate head of Zeus right, scepter (probably) behind (off flan); reverse ΔHMOY - ΓAΞAIΩN (clockwise beginning upper right), a "branch" of two cornucopias attached to stalk-like base, both horns parallel with tops leaning left, each sporting a dangling grape cluster; this coin sat in the FORVM mystery box unattributed for 20 years!; very rare; SOLD


Judaea, Achaemenid Persian Yehud Province, c. 375 - 332 B.C.

|Persian| |Rule|, |Judaea,| |Achaemenid| |Persian| |Yehud| |Province,| |c.| |375| |-| |332| |B.C.||gerah|
"The notable relationship between man and his god was that between supplicant and listener: the supplicant voices his prayer and entreaties to his god, and the god listens and tries to carry out his wishes. Thus the god's most important organ was his ear that heard the prayer..." -- Y. Meshorer in A Treasury of Jewish Coins.

"Incline Thine ear, O Lord, and answer me" (Psalms 86:1)

"for ye have wept in the ears of the Lord" (Numbers 11:18).
JD99503. Silver gerah, G-L-F Yehud type 13 (O1/R1), Hendin 6060 (RR), Menorah Coin Project YHD 13 (01/R1), Meshorer TJC 18, HGC 10 440, Bromberg -, Shoshana -, Sofaer -, VF, toned, off center, light marks and scratches, die wear, edge split, weight 0.295 g, maximum diameter 8.2 mm, Jerusalem (or nearby) mint, c. 350 - 332 B.C.; obverse ear (of God?); reverse falcon upward, head right, wings open, Aramaic (YHD) on right, read right to left (upward); very rare; SOLD


Macedonian Kingdom, Alexander the Great, 336 - 323 B.C.

|Alexander| |the| |Great|, |Macedonian| |Kingdom,| |Alexander| |the| |Great,| |336| |-| |323| |B.C.||stater|
Struck at Akko, Israel!
SH33206. Gold stater, Price 3261 - 3264, VF, weight 8.498 g, maximum diameter 17.8 mm, die axis 0o, Galilee, Ake Ptolemais (Acre, Israel) mint, c. 322 - 320 B.C.; obverse head of Athena right wearing earring, necklace, and crested Corinthian helmet decorated with griffin, hair in ringlets; reverse Nike standing left, wreath in right hand, stylus in left, Phoenician numeral lower right (off-flan), AΛEΞANΔPOY downward behind; SOLD


Macedonian Kingdom, Alexander the Great, 336 - 323 B.C.

|Alexander| |the| |Great|, |Macedonian| |Kingdom,| |Alexander| |the| |Great,| |336| |-| |323| |B.C.||stater|
SH15306. Gold stater, Price 3748, nice VF, weight 8.546 g, maximum diameter 18.5 mm, die axis 270o, Mesopotamia, Babylon (Hillah, Iraq) mint, c. 311 - 305 B.C.; obverse head of Athena right wearing earring, necklace, and crested Corinthian helmet decorated with a coiled snake; reverse BAΣIΛEΩΣ AΛEΞANΔPOY, Nike standing left, wreath in right hand, stylus in left, MI lower left field, MP monogram within wreath lower right; SOLD


Persian Empire, Gebal-Byblos, Phoenicia, King Azba'al, c. 400 - 376 B.C.

|Persian| |Empire|, |Persian| |Empire,| |Gebal-Byblos,| |Phoenicia,| |King| |Azba'al,| |c.| |400| |-| |376| |B.C.||dishekel|
In the Persian period (538 - 332 B.C.), Gebal was a vassal kingdom established by the Persians.

Byblos was famous for its papyrus - the word bible is derived from Byblos.
SH32538. Silver dishekel, SNG Cop 132, SGCV II 6011, Rouvier 639, Dewing 2662, attractive aEF, weight 13.187 g, maximum diameter 26.5 mm, Byblos (Jbail, Lebanon) mint, obverse galley left, lion-head prow, with three hoplites, each helmeted and holding shield, Phoenician monogram ayin zayin (AZ), hippocamp and murex below; reverse Phoenician legend, "Azbaal, king of Gebal", lion attacking bull; SOLD


Macedonian Kingdom, Philip III Arrhidaeus and Alexander IV, 323 - 317 B.C.

|Macedonian| |Kingdom|, |Macedonian| |Kingdom,| |Philip| |III| |Arrhidaeus| |and| |Alexander| |IV,| |323| |-| |317| |B.C.||stater|
Struck in the name of King Philip III Arrhidaeus, Alexander the Great's half-brother, under the regent Perdikkas. Philip III and Alexander's infant son, Alexander IV, were made joint kings after Alexander's death. Philip was the bastard son of Philip II and a dancer, Philinna of Larissa. Alexander the Great's mother, Olympias, allegedly poisoned her stepson Philip III as a child, leaving him mentally disabled, eliminating him as a rival to Alexander. Neither Philip III nor Alexander IV was capable of actual rule and both were selected only to serve as pawns. The regents held power, while Philip III was actually imprisoned. In 317, Philip was murdered by Olympias to ensure the succession of her grandson.
SH33208. Gold stater, Price 178 - 180 (various letters in outer fields), VF, weight 8.509 g, maximum diameter 17.7 mm, die axis 315o, Mesopotamia, Babylon (Hillah, Iraq) mint, obverse head of Athena right in crested Corinthian helmet ornamented with snake; reverse BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΦIΛIΠΠOY, Nike standing left, wreath in right hand, ship's mast in left, ΛY in left field; mint luster in recesses; SOLD


Macedonian Kingdom, Antigonus I Monophthalmus (The "One-Eyed"), 317 - 312 B.C., In the Name of Alexander the Great

|Macedonian| |Kingdom|, |Macedonian| |Kingdom,| |Antigonus| |I| |Monophthalmus| |(The| |"One-Eyed"),| |317| |-| |312| |B.C.,| |In| |the| |Name| |of| |Alexander| |the| |Great||stater|
When Alexander's empire was divided, his general Seleucus received the satrapy of Babylonia. From about 317 to about 311 B.C., however, Antigonus I Monophthalmus (The "One-Eyed") took over as ruler of all Mesopotamia. Seleucus took refuge with Ptolemy of Egypt and with his aid was able to reenter Babylon in 312 B.C. In 306 Antigonus became the first of the Macedonian generals to take the royal title. In 301 he was defeated and killed by the combined armies of Seleucus and Lysimachus.
SH12090. Gold stater, Price 3707, EF, weight 8.553 g, maximum diameter 18.3 mm, die axis 45o, Mesopotamia, Babylon (Hillah, Iraq) mint, 317 - 311 B.C.; obverse head of Athena right in crested Corinthian helmet ornamented with a griffin; reverse BAΣIΛEΩΣ AΛEΞANΔPOY, Nike standing left holding wreath and ship's mast, H under left wing, MEP monogram in wreath under right; SOLD


Macedonian Kingdom, Alexander IV, c. 316 - 311 B.C.

|Alexander| |the| |Great|, |Macedonian| |Kingdom,| |Alexander| |IV,| |c.| |316| |-| |311| |B.C.||tetradrachm|
Susa, the Biblical Shushan, is one of man's oldest cities. People were living at the acropolis by 5000 B.C. and urban structures date from about 4000 B.C. Susa was the capital of Elam and a favorite residence of the Persian king Darius I the Great. Seleucus I annexed Susa to his province c. 311 B.C. A Parthian winter capital, Trajan captured it, making it the easternmost point of the Roman Empire at its apex. He was, however, soon forced to withdraw. In 1218, the city was completely destroyed by invading Mongols. The modern town of Shush, Iran is located at the site of ancient Susa.

Struck under Aspeisas, satrap of Susiana, c. 316 - 311 B.C.
SH30317. Silver tetradrachm, Price 3857, Müller Alexander -, SNG Cop -, Choice EF, nice-style, well centered, sharp, and fantastic sculptural high-relief, weight 17.139 g, maximum diameter 26.8 mm, die axis 225o, Susa (Shush, Iran) mint, Aspeisas, satrap of Susiana, c. 316 - 311 B.C.; obverse head of Herakles right, wearing Nemean Lion skin, scalp over head, forepaws tied at neck; reverse BAΣIΛEΩΣ AΛEΞANΔPOY, Zeus Aëtophoros enthroned left, eagle in extended right hand, long scepter vertical behind in left hand wreath left, AI (above strut) over PΠ monogram under throne; scarce; SOLD


Macedonian Kingdom, Alexander the Great, 336 - 323 B.C. Sidon, Phoenicia

|Alexander| |the| |Great|, |Macedonian| |Kingdom,| |Alexander| |the| |Great,| |336| |-| |323| |B.C.| |Sidon,| |Phoenicia||stater|
SH08321. Gold stater, Price 3471, VF, weight 8.48 g, maximum diameter 17.4 mm, die axis 45o, Sidon (Saida, Lebanon) mint, obverse head of Athena right in crested Corinthian helmet ornamented with a sphinx; reverse AΛEΞANΔPOY, Nike standing left holding wreath and ship's mast, branch at feet left; SOLD




  




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REFERNCES

Baramki, D. The Coin Collection of the American University of Beirut Museum. (Beirut, 1974).
Burnett, A., M. Amandry, et al. Roman Provincial Coinage. (1992 - ).
Grose, S. Catalogue of the McClean Collection of Greek Coins, Fitzwilliam Museum, Volume III: Asia Minor, Farther Asia, Egypt, Africa. (Cambridge, 1929).
Harl, K. "The Coinage of Neapolis in Samaria" in ANSMN 29 (1984), pp. 61–97, pl. 6-15.
Hendin, D. Guide to Biblical Coins, 6th Edition. (Amphora, 2021).
Hill, G. Catalogue of Greek Coins in the British Museum: Palestine. (London, 1914).
Kadman, L. The Coins of Aelia Capitolina. (Jerusalem, 1956).
Kadman, L. The Coinage of Akko Ptolemais. (Jerusalem, 1961).
Kadman, L. The Coinage of Caesarea Maritima. (Jerusalem, 1957).
Kindler, A. The Coins of Tiberias. (Tiberias, 1961).
Lindgren, H. Lindgren III: Ancient Greek Bronze Coins from the Lindgren Collection. (Quarryville, 1993).
Lindgren, H. & F. Kovacs. Ancient Bronze Coins of Asia Minor and the Levant. (San Mateo, 1985).
Meshorer, Y. City-Coins of Eretz Israel and the Decapolis in the Roman Period. (Jerusalem, 1985).
Meshorer, Y. The Coins of Aelia Capitolina. (Jerusalem, 1989).
Meshorer, Y. "The Coins of Caesarea Paneas" in INJ 8 (1984-5).
Meshorer, Y. "The Coins of Dora" in INJ 9 (1986).
Meshorer, Y. "Monnaies de Raphia" in RN 1976.
Meshorer, Y., et al. Coins of the Holy Land: The Abraham and Marian Sofaer Collection at the American Numismatic Society and The Israel Museum. ACNAC 8. (New York, 2013).
Prieur, M. & K. Prieur. The Syro-Phoenician Tetradrachms and their fractions from 57 BC to AD 258. (Lancaster, PA, 2000).
Rosenberger, M. The Rosenberger Israel Collection Vol. I: City-Coins of Palestine: Aelia Kapitolina, Akko, Anthedon Antipatirs and Ascalon. (Jerusalem, 1972).
Rosenberger, M. The Rosenberger Israel Collection Vol. II: City-Coins of Palestine: Caesarea, Diospolis, Dora, Eleutheropolis, Gaba, Gaza and Joppa. (Jerusalem, 1975).
Rosenberger, M. The Rosenberger Israel Collection Vol. III: City-Coins of Palestine: Hipos-Sussita, Neapolis, Nicopolis, Nysa-Scytopolis, Caesarea-Panias, Pelusium, Raphia, Sabaste, Sepphoris-Diocaesarea, Tiberias. (Jerusalem, 1977).
Rosenberger, M. The Rosenberger Israel Collection Vol. IV: The Coinage of Eastern Palestine, and legionary countermarks, Bar-Kochba overstruck. (Jerusalem, 1978).
RPC Online - http://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/
Saulcy, F. de. Numismatique de la Terre Sainte : description des monnaies autonomes et impériales de la Palestine et de l 'Arabie Pétrée. (Paris, 1874).
Sear, D. Greek Imperial Coins and Their Values. (London, 1982).
Spijkerman, A. The Coins of the Decapolis and Provincia Arabia. (Jerusalem, 1978).
Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, Denmark, The Royal Collection of Coins and Medals, Danish National Museum, Volume 7: Cyprus to India. (West Milford, NJ, 1982).
Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, Great Britain VI, Corpus Christi College Cambridge, The Lewis Collection II: The Greek Imperial Coins. (Oxford, 1992).
Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, Schweiz II, Katalog der Sammlung Jean-Pierre Righetti im Bernischen Historischen Museum. (Bern, 1993).
Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, USA, The Collection of the American Numismatic Society, Part 6: Palestine - South Arabia. (New York, 1981).
Wroth, W. A Catalog of the Greek Coins in the British Museum, Galatia, Cappadocia, and Syria. (London, 1899).
Yashin, C. From Ascalon to Raphia: City Coins of the Southern Palestinian Coast. (Jerusalem, 2007).

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