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This is apparently only the second known specimen of this type. All the references given describe the same coin and the plates share photos of a single specimen from the S. Moussaeiff Collection. This coin was struck with the same obverse die but it appears to be from a different reverse die. See the Moussaeiff Collection coin here.JD99501. Silver 1/4 drachm, Hendin 6088 (RRR); Lorber CPE 710; Gitler-Lorber II Group 7, 15; Deutsch Unrecorded 4; Meshorer TJC -; Mildenberg Yehud -, gVF, toned, deposits, obv. off center, edge splits, weight 0.876 g, maximum diameter 10.4 mm, die axis 315o, Jerusalem mint, probably 272 - 261/0 B.C.; obverse diademed head of Ptolemy I right; reverse eagle standing half left on thunderbolt, wings open, head left, Aramaic, Aramaic (YHDH) on left, read right to left (upward); ex CNG auction 117 (19-20 May 2001), lot 328 (listed in error as the much smaller and less rare quarter ma'ah); $17000.00 (€15980.00)
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 4:7–8). 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.JD99500. Silver drachm, Meshorer-Qedar 30; Samuels 6; Mildenberg Bes pl. 1, 5; Sofaer -; SNG ANS -; Hendin -; HGC 10 -, VF, centered, toned, edge split, a little rough, weight 2.565 g, maximum diameter 17.7 mm, die axis 0o, Samaria (Sebastia, West Bank) mint, c. 375 - 332 B.C.; obverse horned head of creature facing (griffin?) within square guilloche-pattern border; reverse winged and horned griffin recumbent right, Aramaic dalat (for Delayah?) above left, square guilloche-pattern border, all within an incuse square; extremely rare; $3450.00 (€3243.00)
Judaea, Achaemenid Persian Yehud Province, c. 375 - 332 B.C.
Yehud, or Yehud Medinata (Aramaic for Province of Judah), was a province of the Persian Achaemenid Empire which corresponded to the previous Babylonian province of Yehud, which was formed after the fall of the kingdom of Judah to the Neo-Babylonian Empire in 597 B.C. The territory, which was ruled by mostly Jewish governors, was considerably smaller and held a far smaller population than the kingdom of Judah before the Babylonian conquest. Yehud existed until the area was incorporated into the empires of Alexander the Great and his successors.JD99502. Silver G-L-F Yehud type 15 (O1/R1), Hendin 6062 (RR), Menorah Coin Project YHD 15 (01/R1), Meshorer TJC -, Sofaer -, Spaer Coll. -, HGC 10 -, F, dark toning, off center, weight 0.339 g, maximum diameter 8.3 mm, die axis 180o, Jerusalem (or nearby) mint, c. 350 - 332 B.C.; obverse incense bowl with flame and smoke; reverse falcon upward, head right, wings open, Aramaic (YHD) on right, read right to left (upward); Coin Archives records only one specimen of the type at auction in the last two decades; very rare; $3300.00 (€3102.00)
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 4:7–8). 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.JD110671. Silver ma'ah-obol, Meshorer-Qedar 20, Sofaer 43, Sunrise 139, Hendin -, SNG ANS -, HGC 10 -, gVF, toned, obv. off center, tight flan, weight 0.640 g, maximum diameter 9.7 mm, die axis 0o, Samaria (Sebastia, West Bank) mint, c. 375 - 332 B.C.; obverse head of satrap left, bearded, wearing kyrbasia (Persian tiara); reverse Persian king on right, standing left, fighting winged beast, he holds the animal’s head in his right hand and dagger in his left hand, Aramaic SMRYN in right field; ex Gorny & Mosch auction 289 (10-11 Oct 2022), lot 449; ex Gert Cleff Collection (Wuppertal); ex Numismatica Ars Classica (Zurich) auction 64 (2012), lot 1609; rare; $630.00 (€592.20)
Persian Empire, Samaria, c. 375 - 332 B.C.
"Perhaps this person is the Sanballat II referred to by Josephus as the one who "had been sent to Samaria as satrap by Darius the last king." -- Gide to Biblical Coins, p. 85, by David HendinJD110670. Silver ma'ah-obol, cf. Meshorer-Qedar 52, Sofaer 70 - 71, Hendin 6039 (RR), HGC 10 410 (R2), SNG ANS - (all with different style), gVF, toned, centered on a tight flan, mildly etched surfaces, weight 0.706 g, maximum diameter 8.9 mm, die axis 180o, Samaria (Sebastia, West Bank) mint, c. 375 - 332 B.C.; obverse head of the Persian great king right, wearing crenelated crown; reverse lion left, square border of dots, Aramaic SN (Sanballat II?) above (off flan), within an incuse square; ex Gorny & Mosch auction 289 (10 Oct 2022), lot 428; ex Gert Cleff Collection (Wuppertal); ex Gorny & Mosch auction 142 (10 Oct 2005), lot 1667; rare; $540.00 (€507.60)
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 4:7–8). 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; $450.00 (€423.00)
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; $450.00 (€423.00)
Roman Syria-Palestina, Jewish, Lead Bulla Seal, 7 Branched Menorah, c. 5th - 6th Century A.D.
A bulla (plural, bullae) is a lump of clay or lead molded around a cord and stamped with a seal that identifies the sender. With a bulla in place, a container cannot be violated without visible damage to either the bulla or the cord, revealing the tampering. Bullae depicting a menorah are known but very rare and not well documented. Dattari-Savio p. 327, 3 is a 1901 rubbing of a very similar menorah sealing. Michael Still lists two menorah sealings in his thesis on Roman seals, 1696 with a Latin inscription reverse, 1765 with a Hebrew inscription reverse. The recently published catalogue of the Vossen collection by Gert Boersema and Bill Dalzell, has two Menorah seals, numbers 181 and 182, both with blank reverses. There are also a few examples known from auctions. A FORVM member posted a bulla of this exact type from his collection on the Classical Numismatic Discussion on the Forum Ancient Coins website. We received three examples of this type on consignment, all with the same fire damage, suggesting they were found together.JD98656. Lead bulla (tag seal), VF/Fair, light earthen deposits, raised bumps from exposure to an ancient fire that heated and expanded air bubbles within the lead, c. 5th - 6th century A.D.; obverse seven branched menorah with tripod base; reverse lulav, uncertain Syriac inscription (obscure); very rare; $270.00 (€253.80)
Elagabalus, 16 May 218 - 11 March 222 A.D., Aelia Capitolina (Jerusalem), Syria Palestina
In 132, a messianic, charismatic Jewish leader Simon bar Kokhba started the Bar Kokhba revolt, a war of liberation for Judea against Rome. At first the rebellion was a success. The legion X Fretensis was forced to retreat from Jerusalem to Caesarea. The legion XXII Deiotariana, which advanced from Egypt, was destroyed. The Jews re-established their sacrifices and struck coins to celebrate their independence. The rebellion would last for only 30 months. By 135, the Romans had recaptured Jerusalem, Simon bar Kokhba was dead, and the majority of the Jewish population of Judea was either killed, exiled, or sold into slavery. Jerusalem was renamed Colonia Aelia Capitolina and an altar to Jupiter was erected on the site of the Temple. After these events, the Jews would remain scattered without a homeland for close to two millennia.RP111378. Bronze AE 24, Unpublished bust variant; cf. RPC VI T9060, Meshorer Aelia 129, Kadman Aelia Capitolina 126, Rosenberger 64, Sofaer 126, F/aF, earthen deposits, rev. weakly struck, weight 8.221 g, maximum diameter 23.9 mm, die axis 0o, Aelia Capitolina (Jerusalem) mint, 218 - 222 A.D.; obverse IMP C M A ANTONINVS (or similar), laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Elagabalus right, seen from behind; reverse COL A C C P F (Colonia Aelia Capitolina Pius Felix), Tyche-Fortuna standing left, wearing turreted crown, right foot on helmet(?), sacrificing at horned altar at her feet with her right hand, long scepter vertical in left hand, aquila (legionary eagle standard) to left of altar, uncertain object in exergue; this is the only specimen of this bust variant known to FORVM; extremely rare; $250.00 (€235.00)
Nabataean Kingdom, Aretas IV and Phasael, 5 - 4 B.C.
Possibly struck in the year of Christ's birth! Jesus was born sometime between 6 B.C. and 4 B.C. Matthew describes King Herod as the ruler during the time of the Nativity, and Herod died in 4 B.C. Later, in order to kill Jesus and eliminate him as a rival king, Herod ordered the "Massacre of the Innocents" - the killing of all male children in Bethlehem aged two years and under. This means that Jesus may have been up to two years old already by that time, and this also sets the Nativity between 6 and 4 B.C. The normal issue of this type has the monograms of Aretas (heth) and his son, Phasael, (peh sade).GB110807. Bronze AE 14, Meshorer Nabataean 63A var. (monograms); Barkay CN 117 var. (same); Al-Qatanani 185t9 var. (same); Schmitte-Korte 1990 49 var. (same, VF, attractive dark green patina with reddish earthen highlighting, light scratches, weight 1.898 g, maximum diameter 14.3 mm, die axis 0o, Petra (Jordan) mint, c. 5 - 4 B.C.; obverse laureate head right; reverse two parallel cornucopias, tops left, tided with ribbon, palm frond on right; $180.00 (€169.20)