The New York Sale
Auction 39 10 January 2017
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ANCIENT JEWISH COINS, JUDEA CAPTA COINS OF ROME, Phoenicia, Tyre. Silver 1/4 Shekel (3.28 g), ca. 126/5 BC-AD 65/6. Year 2 (125/4 BC). Laureate bust of Melkart right. Rev. [ ] , eagle standing left on prow, palm on far wing; in left field, date (L B) and club; in right field, M monogram; lacking Phoenician letter between eagle's legs. (DCA 923; DCA Suppl. 6.1 (this coin).) An extremely rare denomination for the series. Toned. Choice very fine.
ex Freeman & Sear (March 10, 1991), lot 226
ex Superior (May 31,1988), lot 1559.
In the introduction to his extensive catalogue of Tyre's final silver coinage, the famous Melkart/Eagle series, Cohen states "[this] first photographic supplement to DCA is by no means complete. It encompasses 589 different varieties of these coins, defined by their varying dates, monograms, Phoenician letters and four denominations in silver. These include photographs for 365 shekels, 104 half shekels, 3 quarter shekels and 2 eighth shekels" (p. 9). These numbers serve to illustrate more than just the varieties of the coins; they indicate the extreme rarity of the smaller fractional issues as a type, with Tyrian 1/4 shekels being only 0.82% as common as shekels, and the even rarer 1/8 shekels being on 0.55% as common. Also of interest is that all Melkart/Eagle series issues have a Phoenician letter between the eagle's legs, either aleph or bet with the single exception of this 1/4 shekel, which is lacking any letter in that position.
Estimate: $ 2,500
ex Freeman & Sear (March 10, 1991), lot 226
ex Superior (May 31,1988), lot 1559.
In the introduction to his extensive catalogue of Tyre's final silver coinage, the famous Melkart/Eagle series, Cohen states "[this] first photographic supplement to DCA is by no means complete. It encompasses 589 different varieties of these coins, defined by their varying dates, monograms, Phoenician letters and four denominations in silver. These include photographs for 365 shekels, 104 half shekels, 3 quarter shekels and 2 eighth shekels" (p. 9). These numbers serve to illustrate more than just the varieties of the coins; they indicate the extreme rarity of the smaller fractional issues as a type, with Tyrian 1/4 shekels being only 0.82% as common as shekels, and the even rarer 1/8 shekels being on 0.55% as common. Also of interest is that all Melkart/Eagle series issues have a Phoenician letter between the eagle's legs, either aleph or bet with the single exception of this 1/4 shekel, which is lacking any letter in that position.
Estimate: $ 2,500