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Home ▸ Catalog ▸ |Judean & Biblical Coins| ▸ |Hasmonean Dynasty| ▸ |Alexander Jannaeus||View Options:  |  |  |   

Alexander Jannaeus (Yehonatan), 103 - 76 B.C.

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.

Lot of 4 Nice Quality Judaean Bronze Prutah of Hasmonean Kings (Maccabees), 167 - 37 B.C.

|Holyland| |Bulk| |Lots|, |Lot| |of| |4| |Nice| |Quality| |Judaean| |Bronze| |Prutah| |of| |Hasmonean| |Kings| |(Maccabees),| |167| |-| |37| |B.C.||Lot|NEW
Lot includes: Yehohanan (Hendin 6165) choice lily, Yehohanan (Hendin 6172) full legend, Mattityah (Hendin 6199) choice with full legend, Yehonatan (Hendin 6189) "widow's mite"
LT114810. Bronze Lot, 4 Judaea Hasmonean kings prutot, c. 14 - 16mm, average VF, highlighting earthen deposits, Jerusalem mint, 167 - 37 B.C.; $250.00 (€235.00)
 


|Alexander| |Jannaeus|, |Judean| |Kingdom,| |Alexander| |Jannaeus| |(Yehonatan),| |104| |-| |76| |B.C.||prutah|NEW
The lily was regarded as the choicest among the flowers. It graced the capitals of the two main pillars which stood at the entrance to the sanctuary. See Symbols| on Judean| Coins| in NumisWiki.
JD114835. Bronze prutah, Hendin 6184; Meshorer TJC N; Meshorer AJC A; Sofaer 214; BMC Palestine p. 198, 1; HGC 10 636, gF, highlighting earthen deposits, obv. edge beveled, sprue remnants/cuts, weight 2.066 g, maximum diameter 14.3 mm, die axis 0o, Jerusalem mint, c. 95 - 76 B.C.; obverse Paleo-Hebrew inscription: Yehonatan the King, lily; reverse Greek legend: BAΣIΛEΩΣ AΛEΞANΔPOY (King Alexander in Greek), anchor within inner circle; scarce; $160.00 (€150.40)
 


|Alexander| |Jannaeus|, |Judean| |Kingdom,| |Alexander| |Jannaeus| |(Yehonatan),| |104| |-| |76| |B.C.||prutah|NEW
The lily was regarded as the choicest among the flowers. It graced the capitals of the two main pillars which stood at the entrance to the sanctuary. See Symbols| on Judean| Coins| in NumisWiki.
JD114836. Bronze prutah, Hendin 6184; Meshorer TJC N; Meshorer AJC A; Sofaer 214; BMC Palestine p. 198, 1; HGC 10 636, gF, broad flan, obv. off center, earthen encrusted, rev. edge beveled, sprue remnants/cuts, weight 2.420 g, maximum diameter 15.3 mm, die axis 0o, Jerusalem mint, c. 95 - 76 B.C.; obverse Paleo-Hebrew inscription: Yehonatan the King, lily; reverse Greek legend: BAΣIΛEΩΣ AΛEΞANΔPOY (King Alexander in Greek), anchor within inner circle; scarce; $160.00 (€150.40)
 


|Alexander| |Jannaeus|, |Judean| |Kingdom,| |Alexander| |Jannaeus| |(Yehonatan),| |104| |-| |76| |B.C.||prutah|
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.
JD113053. Bronze prutah, Hendin 6186, Meshorer TJC S, HGC 10 641, VF, green patina, highlighting earthen deposits, casting sprue and cut, obv. edge beveled, small casting voids at edge, weight 2.250 g, maximum diameter 15.5 mm, die axis 0o, Jerusalem mint, 104 - 76 B.C.; obverse highly stylized Paleo-Hebrew inscription within wreath: Yonatan the High Priest and the Council of the Jews; reverse two cornucopias splayed outward, adorned with ribbons, pomegranate or poppy between the horns; $140.00 (€131.60)
 


|Alexander| |Jannaeus|, |Judean| |Kingdom,| |Alexander| |Jannaeus| |(Yehonatan),| |104| |-| |76| |B.C.||prutah|
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. Most examples have strong undertype effects obscuring the inscription but this coin does not and the inscription is clear. The Paleo-Hebrew inscription, in classic style, on this coin reads, from right to left, as follows: YNTN (Yonatan) / H (the) KHNH (Priest) / GDL (high) W (and) (HH)B/ R (council) [H] (the, omitted) YHD (Jews). See Reading Judean Coins in NumisWiki.
JD110335. Bronze prutah, Hendin 6185, Meshorer TJC T, Meshorer AJC I, HGC 10 642, gF, dark patina, highlighting earthen deposits, scratches, sprue cuts, reverse edge beveled, clear inscription, unusual because there is no indication of being overstruck, weight 2.329 g, maximum diameter 15.0 mm, die axis 0o, Jerusalem mint, 104 - 76 B.C.; obverse Paleo-Hebrew inscription in classic style: Yonatan 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 an Israeli collection; $110.00 (€103.40)
 


|Alexander| |Jannaeus|, |Judean| |Kingdom,| |Alexander| |Jannaeus| |(Yehonatan),| |104| |-| |76| |B.C.||prutah|
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.
JD111359. Bronze prutah, Hendin 6180, Meshorer TJC Q, Meshorer AJC F, Sofaer 314 ff., HGC 10 639, F, dark patina, highlighting earthen deposits, rev. edge beveled, remnants of flan casting sprues, weight 1.974 g, maximum diameter 13.6 mm, die axis 0o, Jerusalem mint, 104 - 76 B.C.; obverse block style 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; $80.00 (€75.20)
 


|Alexander| |Jannaeus|, |Judean| |Kingdom,| |Alexander| |Jannaeus| |(Yehonatan),| |104| |-| |76| |B.C.||prutah|
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.
JD113343. Bronze prutah, Hendin 6180, Meshorer TJC Q, Meshorer AJC F, Sofaer 314 ff., HGC 10 639, aVF, irregular shape, edge splits, rev. edge beveled, weight 0.904 g, maximum diameter 13.4 mm, die axis 0o, Jerusalem mint, 104 - 76 B.C.; obverse block style 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; ex CNG e-auction 520 (20 Jul 2022), lot 174; $80.00 (€75.20)
 


|Alexander| |Jannaeus|, |Judean| |Kingdom,| |Alexander| |Jannaeus| |(Yehonatan),| |104| |-| |76| |B.C.||prutah|
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.
JD113602. Bronze prutah, Hendin 6181, Meshorer TJC P, Meshorer AJC E, Sofaer 274 ff., HGC 10 638, F, green patina, highlighting earthen deposits, obv. edge beveled, weight 1.833 g, maximum diameter 14.2 mm, die axis 0o, Jerusalem mint, 104 - 76 B.C.; obverse classical style 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; $80.00 (€75.20)
 


Judean Kingdom, Alexander Jannaeus (Yehonatan), 104 - 76 B.C., Overstrike

|Alexander| |Jannaeus|, |Judean| |Kingdom,| |Alexander| |Jannaeus| |(Yehonatan),| |104| |-| |76| |B.C.,| |Overstrike||prutah|
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.
JD97681. Bronze prutah, Hendin 6185b, Meshorer TJC T1, Meshorer AJC I; undertype Hendin 6184 (Jannaeus, lily/anchor), aVF, highlighting red earthen deposits, weight 2.688 g, maximum diameter 16.7 mm, die axis 270o, Jerusalem mint, 103 - 76 B.C.; obverse Paleo-Hebrew inscription: Yonatan the High Priest and the Council of the Jews, within wreath, struck over lily; reverse two cornucopias splayed outward, adorned with ribbons, pomegranate or poppy between the horns, struck over anchor; from an Israeli collection; $70.00 (€65.80)
 


|Alexander| |Jannaeus|, |Judean| |Kingdom,| |Alexander| |Jannaeus| |(Yehonatan),| |104| |-| |76| |B.C.||prutah|
Hendin 6182 is easily identified by its unique cursive style inscription. Meshorer wrote of this cursive style, "The letters appear is if they were written with pen and ink. They are schematic, elongated, oblique, and very small. Some are so minute as to be little more than points. Although small, the shapes of the letters are simple and quite legible. The inscription is mostly complete and contains no errors."
JD99437. Bronze prutah, Hendin 6182, Meshorer TJC R, Meshorer AJC G, SNG ANS 116, HGC 10 640, F, highlighting desert patina, porous, remains of casting sprues, reverse edge beveled, weight 1.989 g, maximum diameter 14.6 mm, die axis 180o, Jerusalem mint, 104 - 76 B.C.; obverse Paleo-Hebrew inscription: Paleo-Hebrew inscription: Yehonatan the High Priest and the Council of the Jews, cursive style script, within wreath; reverse two cornucopias splayed outward, adorned with ribbons, pomegranate or poppy between the horns; from the Michael Arslan Collection; $70.00 (€65.80)
 




  



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REFERENCES

Cohen, E. Dated Coins of Antiquity: A comprehensive catalogue of the coins and how their numbers came about. (Lancaster, PA, 2011).
Fontanille, J. Menorah Coin Project, website: http://menorahcoinproject.com/
Hendin, D. Guide to Biblical Coins, 6th Edition. (Amphora, 2021).
Hill, G. Catalogue of Greek Coins in the British Museum: Palestine. (London, 1914).
Hoover, O. Handbook of Coins of the Southern Levant: Phoenicia, Southern Koile Syria (Including Judaea), and Arabia, Fifth to First Centuries BC. HGC 10. (Lancaster, PA, 2010).
Kaufman, J. Unrecorded Hasmonean Coins from the J. Ch Kaufman Collection. (Jerusalem, 1995).
Kindler, A. Coins of the Land of Israel. (Jerusalem, 1974).
Maltiel-Gerstenfeld, J. 260 Years of Ancient Jewish Coinage. (Tel Aviv, 1982).
Meshorer, Y. Ancient Jewish Coinage. (New York, 1982).
Meshorer, Y. A Treasury of Jewish Coins from the Persian Period to Bar Kokhba. (Jerusalem, 2001).
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).
Reinach, S. Jewish Coins. (London, 1903).
Rogers, E. Handy Guide To Jewish Coins. (London, 1914).
Samuels, C., P. Rynearson & Y. Meshorer. The Numismatic Legacy of the Jews as depicted by a distinguished American Collection. (New York, 2000).
Sear, D. Greek Coins and Their Values, Volume 2: Asia and Africa. (London, 1979).
Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, Denmark, The Royal Collection of Coins and Medals, Danish National Museum, Vol. 7: Cyprus to India. (West Milford, NJ, 1982).
Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, USA, The Collection of the American Numismatic Society, Part 6: Palestine - South Arabia. (New York, 1981).

SYMBOLS ON THE COINS OF ALEXANDER JANNAEUS (YEHONATAN)

Anchor: The anchor was adopted from the Seleucids, who used it to symbolize their naval strength. Anchors are depicted upside down, as they would be seen hung on the side of a boat ready for use. Jannaeus' anchor coins were probably struck after the conquest of the coastal cities (with the exception of Ashkelon) in 95 B.C. The anchor on these coins probably publicized the annexation of these areas.

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.

Diadem: The diadem symbolizes royalty.

Lily: The lily was regarded as the choicest among the flowers. It graced the capitals of the two main pillars which stood at the entrance to the sanctuary.

Lulav: Lulav is a ripe, green, closed frond of the date palm tree. It is one of the Four Species used in the daily prayer services during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. The other species are the hadass (myrtle), aravah (willow), and etrog (citron). Each type of plant represents different parts of your body because it shows that you worship God with all of your body. To qualify for use as one of the Four Species, the lulav must be ramrod straight, with whole leaves that lay closely together, and not be bent or broken at the top. The term Lulav also refers to the lulav in combination with two of the other species that are bound together to perform the mitzvah of waving the lulav.

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.

Star: The star symbolizes heaven.


Catalog current as of Tuesday, March 19, 2024.
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