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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 as a quarter ma'ah in error); $19000.00 (€19190.00)
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; $4280.00 (€4322.80)
Judaea, Achaemenid Persian Yehud Province, c. 375 - 332 B.C.
"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, 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; $4200.00 (€4242.00)
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 half ma'ha (1/48 shekel), Hendin 6062 (RR), Menorah Coin Project YHD 15 (01/R1), Meshorer TJC -, Bromberg -, Shoshana -, 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; $3700.00 (€3737.00)
Judaea, Valerius Gratus, Roman Prefect Under Tiberius, 15 - 26 A.D., Cohors II Italica Civium Romanorum Countermark
NEW Now there was a certain man at Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian cohort...(Acts 10:1).
Spijkermann was the first to publish a countermarked prutah, also a Valerius Gratus coin, in 1963. Lönnqvist published the first detailed study, "New Vistas on the Countermarked Coins of the Roman Prefects of Judaea" in INJ 12. Kogon published an update, "Countermarks on Small Judean Coins" in INR 7, identifying 47 known specimens of countermarked prutah of all types. Both papers are available online. Lönnqvist interpreted CΠ in the countermark as an abbreviation for the Greek word σπειρα, referring to a Roman legionary tactical unit, a cohors. The use of CΠ referring to a cohors is also known from an inscription. He suggested that the countermarks were applied in 36 - 37 A.D. in Jerusalem to mark the coins as pay for the soldiers of the cohors II Italica civium Romanorum.JD111613. Bronze prutah, Hendin 6369a (same c/m); RPC I 4966.8-11 (same); Meshorer TJC 330 (same); countermark: Kogon 3b, Howgego GIC 386, coin: Fair, countermark: VF, weight 2.195 g, maximum diameter 17.7 mm, die axis 0o, Jerusalem mint, 24 - 25 A.D., c/m: 36 - 37/41 A.D.; obverse TIB / KAI/CAP (Greek: Tiberius Caesar) in three lines within wreath tied at base with an X; reverse palm branch curving right, flanked by IOY-ΛIA (Greek: Julia = Tiberius' mother Livia) above L - IA (year 11 of Tiberius) in two lines across field; countermark: palm frond flanked by C-Π within 8mm circular punch; from the collection of a Texas clergyman, ex J. P. Fontanille Collection (2016); rare countermark; $1600.00 (€1616.00)
Judean Kingdom, Alexander Jannaeus (Yehonatan), 103 - 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.JD98781. Bronze lepton, Hendin 6183 (RR); BMC Palestine p. 199, 9; Meshorer TJC O; Sofaer 220; Meshorer AJC B; HGC 10 643; SNG ANS -, F, earthen deposits, remnant of a pre-strike casting sprue, weight 1.293 g, maximum diameter 13.7 mm, die axis 0o, Jerusalem mint, 103 - 76 B.C.; obverse Paleo-Hebrew legend counterclockwise from upper left: (Yehonatan the King), palm branch upright; reverse lily; from an Israeli collection, first specimen of this type handled by FORVM; very rare; $1400.00 (€1414.00)
Robert Deutsch identified this as a 20 shekel weight, uncertain of the full weight, but according to David Hendin 20 shekel dome weights are not known to exist. Also, in his Excavations in Jerusalem, Tushingham lists a similar creamy white limestone 24 shekel dome weight with the same symbol, and at 268.3g, it is clearly a 24 shekel weight. Yohanan Aharoni in "The Use of Hieratic Numerals in Hebrew Ostraca and the Shekel Weights" discusses another 24 shekel weight with the same symbols (fig. 2c), and describes the use of these symbols for 24 shekels as "unique." Apparently it is not unique, but it is undoubtedly extremely rare.AS111510. Judah, dome 24 shekel weight fragment; Tushingham fig. 79, 9 (whole, 268.3g, same hieratic mark); see Aharoni Hieratic p. 16, fig. 2c, Choice, but a fragment of about 42% of the original weight; 113.239g, 53.5mm diameter, 40.8mm high, pre-exile, 800 - 586 B.C.; carved creamy white limestone dome, hieratic (24 shekels) inscribed on top; ex Archaeological Center (Robert Deutsch, Tel Aviv, Israel), auction 51 (17 Oct 2011), lot 71; extremely rare; $800.00 (€808.00)
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.JD110669. Silver tetartemorion, Meshorer-Qedar 191, Sofaer -, Hendin -, SNG ANS -, HGC 10 -, gVF, toned, obv. off center, scratches, weight 0.198 g, maximum diameter 7.4 mm, die axis 270o, Samaria (Sebastia, West Bank) mint, c. 375 - 332 B.C.; obverse head of satrap right, wearing kyrbasia (Persian tiara); reverse youthful beardless head right with short hair, dot border, within round incuse; ex Gorny & Mosch auction 289 (10 Oct 2022), lot 441; ex Gert Cleff Collection (Wuppertal); ex Numismatica Ars Classica (Zurich) auction 64 (2012), lot 1675; this coin is one of only three specimens of this type sold at auction in the last two decades as recorded on Coin Archives; extremely rare; $700.00 (€707.00)
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; $700.00 (€707.00)
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.JD110672. Silver tetartemorion, unpublished denomination; cf. Meshorer-Qedar cf. 32 (obol), Sofaer -, Hendin -, HGC 10 -, VF, dark toning, weight 0.113 g, maximum diameter 6.0 mm, die axis 180o, Samaria (Sebastia, West Bank) mint, c. 375 - 332 B.C.; obverse great king running right, transverse spear in right hand, bow in left hand; reverse great king running right, transverse spear in right hand, bow in left hand (same as obverse); ex Gorny & Mosch auction 289 (10-11 Oct 2022), lot 444; ex Gert Cleff Collection (Wuppertal); ex Classical Numismatic Group auction 78, (14 May 2008), lot 918 (identified this coin as unique); ex Macleay Collection; this coin is only specimen of this type known to FORVM; extremely rare; $650.00 (€656.50)