The New York Sale
Auction 39 10 January 2017
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ANCIENT JEWISH COINS, HASMONEAN DYNASTY, Judaea, Hasmonean Kingdom. John Hyrcanus I (Yehohanan). Æ Double Prutah (5.34 g), 134-104 BCE. Uncertain Samarian mint(?). 'Yehohanan the High Priest and Head of the Council of the Jews' (Paleo-Hebrew), double cornucopia adorned with ribbons, within circular beaded border. Rev. Macedonian helmet with high crest and cheek guards right, within circular beaded border; in lower left field, monogram (off flan). (TJC grp. H, pl. 18, H1P (same rev. die); Hendin 1136). An important rarity. Dark green desert patina.Very fine.
Purchased privately at the NYINC, December 1987.
The types of this rare coin depart dramatically from the usual iconographic repertoire of John Hyrcanus I. The parallel double cornucopia is distinct from the splayed double cornucopia of Hyrcanus' main coinage with its apparent associations with the priesthood of the Jerusalem Temple. Here the parallel cornucopiae and the Macedonian cavalry helmet may be derived from the roughly contemporary coinage of the Seleukid usurper, Alexander II Zabinas (128-122 BCE). Josephus (AJ 33.9.3) tells us that Hyrcanus and Zabinas were on friendly terms, presumably because both had an interest in defending their claims to power against the legitimate kings of the Seleukid dynasty.
Estimate: $ 7,000
Purchased privately at the NYINC, December 1987.
The types of this rare coin depart dramatically from the usual iconographic repertoire of John Hyrcanus I. The parallel double cornucopia is distinct from the splayed double cornucopia of Hyrcanus' main coinage with its apparent associations with the priesthood of the Jerusalem Temple. Here the parallel cornucopiae and the Macedonian cavalry helmet may be derived from the roughly contemporary coinage of the Seleukid usurper, Alexander II Zabinas (128-122 BCE). Josephus (AJ 33.9.3) tells us that Hyrcanus and Zabinas were on friendly terms, presumably because both had an interest in defending their claims to power against the legitimate kings of the Seleukid dynasty.
Estimate: $ 7,000