Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Triton XXV 11-12 Jan 2022
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JUDAEA, Hasmoneans. Mattathias Antigonos (Mattatayah). 40-37 BCE. Æ Prutah (14.5mm, 2.04 g, 6h). Jerusalem mint. Showbread table; "Mattatayah [the High Priest]" (in Paleo-Hebrew) around / Seven-branched menorah; BAΣIΛEΩΣ ANTI around. Meshorer 41; Hendin 6203; HGC 10, 650; Bromberg 19; Shoshana I 20093–4; Sofaer 446; Spaer –. Dark green-brown patina. Near EF. Well centered on a round flan, showing full menorah and nearly full legends. Likely the finest known example of this classic rarity.
Perhaps the most famous of all Judaean coins are the humble bronze prutahs bearing the image of the golden seven-branched menorah and the showbread table that stood in the Jerusalem Temple. When struck by the last Hasmonean king, Mattathias Antigonos, it was one of very few images of the menorah that had ever been seen, as the Mosaic ban on graven images was long thought to to apply to sacred objects as well as deities and living creatures. Use of such formerly forbidden images on a
coin was a desperate appeal to patriotism, as Mattathias was being challenged by the Roman-backed Herod for kingship in Judaea. Created under siege conditions, surviving examples of the menorah prutot are frequently poorly struck, heavily
worn or otherwise damaged by the passage of time. This specimen, well centered and bearing clear images and full legends, certainly ranks among the best and most complete surviving examples, if not the finest known.
Perhaps the most famous of all Judaean coins are the humble bronze prutahs bearing the image of the golden seven-branched menorah and the showbread table that stood in the Jerusalem Temple. When struck by the last Hasmonean king, Mattathias Antigonos, it was one of very few images of the menorah that had ever been seen, as the Mosaic ban on graven images was long thought to to apply to sacred objects as well as deities and living creatures. Use of such formerly forbidden images on a
coin was a desperate appeal to patriotism, as Mattathias was being challenged by the Roman-backed Herod for kingship in Judaea. Created under siege conditions, surviving examples of the menorah prutot are frequently poorly struck, heavily
worn or otherwise damaged by the passage of time. This specimen, well centered and bearing clear images and full legends, certainly ranks among the best and most complete surviving examples, if not the finest known.