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ANTIOCHA AD ORONTEM - SYRIA
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"Star of Bethlehem" bronze of Antioch
Anonymous Issue under Nero, AE Small Denomination, 56/57 (Caesarean Year 105), Syria: Seleucis and Pieria-Antiochia ad Orontem ANTIOXEWN - Veiled, turreted head of Tyche right, countermark of star (of Bethlehem?) in left field - EPIKOUADRATOU Ram leaping right, looking back, star and crescent above
ET EP in exergue 16mm. Butcher Antioch 121; SNG Copenhagen 101
Michael Molnar, an astronomer, believes this coin depicts Jupiter's occultation of Aries in 6 B.C., the most probable "Star of Bethlehem."
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