Ira and Larry Goldberg Auctioneers
Auction 100 5-6 Sep 2017
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Judaea, Hasmonean Kingdom. Alexander Jannaeus (Yehonatan). Æ Prutah (2.23 g), 103-76 BCE. Jerusalem. 'Yehonatan the King' (Paleo-Hebrew), lily, within circular beaded border. Reverse: [B]AΣIΛEΩ AΛE[ΞANΔPOY], inverted anchor within circle. Hendin 1148; TJC grp. N. Nearly Extremely Fine. Estimate Value $200 - 250
Ex Superior (3 June 1998), 6530.
This emission seems to look back to the Seleukid coinage struck by John Hyrcanus I for his ostensible overlord, the Seleukid king Antiochos VII Sidetes in 132-130 BCE. Both feature a lily on the obverse as a symbol of Jerusalem and an anchor as a badge of royal (Seleukid) authority. Here, however, Jannaeus seems to use it as a means of indicating his legitimacy as the successor to the now feeble and virtually extinct line of Seleukid kings. It is no accident that the Paleo-Hebrew legend appears alongside the Jewish emblem of the lily while the Greek legend is associated with the anchor.
Ex Superior (3 June 1998), 6530.
This emission seems to look back to the Seleukid coinage struck by John Hyrcanus I for his ostensible overlord, the Seleukid king Antiochos VII Sidetes in 132-130 BCE. Both feature a lily on the obverse as a symbol of Jerusalem and an anchor as a badge of royal (Seleukid) authority. Here, however, Jannaeus seems to use it as a means of indicating his legitimacy as the successor to the now feeble and virtually extinct line of Seleukid kings. It is no accident that the Paleo-Hebrew legend appears alongside the Jewish emblem of the lily while the Greek legend is associated with the anchor.