Ira and Larry Goldberg Auctioneers
Auction 126 15 Feb 2022
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Judaea, Hasmonean Kingdom. Mattathias Antigonos (Mattatayah). Æ 8 Prutot (13.64 g), 40-37 BCE. Jerusalem. 'Mattatayah the High Priest and Council of the Jews' (Paleo-Hebrew), double cornucopiae. Reverse: BACΛEOC ANTIΓONOY, ivy wreath tied with ribbons. Hendin 1162; TJC 36. A particularly choice example, with rarely encountered clear legends. Green-brown patina with sandy highlights. Choice Very Fine. Estimated Value $500 - UP
In 40 BCE, at the head of a Parthian army, Mattathias II Antigonus drove Herod the Great and his puppet, the Hasmonaean ethnarch, John Hyrcanus II, out of Jerusalem and was proclaimed king and High Priest by the Parthians and his Jewish supporters. Unfortunately, the wily Herod was not so easily defeated and returned in 39 BCE armed with recognition as the Roman client-king of Judaea. The hapless Mattathias II was ultimately defeated and crucified for his troubles, leaving Judaea to begin a new period in its troubled history under the often hated Herodian dynasty.
In 40 BCE, at the head of a Parthian army, Mattathias II Antigonus drove Herod the Great and his puppet, the Hasmonaean ethnarch, John Hyrcanus II, out of Jerusalem and was proclaimed king and High Priest by the Parthians and his Jewish supporters. Unfortunately, the wily Herod was not so easily defeated and returned in 39 BCE armed with recognition as the Roman client-king of Judaea. The hapless Mattathias II was ultimately defeated and crucified for his troubles, leaving Judaea to begin a new period in its troubled history under the often hated Herodian dynasty.