Judaea. Jerusalem. Antiochos VII Sidetes and John Hyrcanus I 132-130 BCE. Uncertain date
Prutah Æ
15 mm, 2,16 g
Lily / [B]AΣIΛEΩ[Σ] ANTIOXOY [EYE]PΓET[OY], anchor, date below.
nearly very fine
Hendin 1131; HGC 9, 1103.
From the Tareq Hani collection
John Hyrcanus I who is the nephew of the famous Judah Maccabee (the hero of the Hanukkah story) came to power as the Heigh Priest of Jerusalem in the year 134 BCE. During his first year in power he was faced with an invasion of Judea and a siege on Jerusalem by the Seleucid King Antiochos VII Sidetes. The siege lasted for over a year. Eventually Hyrcanus agreed on a truce that meant the walls of the city would be torn down, 3,000 talents of silver will by paid to Antiochos, once again Judean recognition of Seleucid control and many other things that impacted the Ancient Judeans. But another thing that was agreed upon in the treaty was that Hyrcanus could strike bronze coins at the Jerusalem Mint but in the name of Antiochos. Hence the creation of the coin above. This coin is also the first known time that a prutah was issued making this the vary first prutah in known history.