Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Auction 123 23-24 May 2023
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A. Plautius. 55 BC. AR Denarius (17mm, 3.89 g, 6h). Rome mint. Turreted head of Cybele right / Bacchius Judaeus (Aristobulus II, High Priest and King of Judaea) kneeling right, holding reins and offering up olive branch; to left, camel standing right. Crawford 431/1; Sydenham 932; Plautia 13; RBW 1540. Minor marks, light porosity. Good VF.
The enigmatic "Bacchius the Jew" depicted in supplication on the reverse has been plausibly identified by Michael Harlan as the Judaean high priest Aristobulus II, who was deposed by Pompey the Great after his siege of Jerusalem in 63 BC. The moneyer, Aulus Plautius, is known to have been a partisan of Pompey's, and his choice of coin types suggests he served under Pompey in the campaign.
The enigmatic "Bacchius the Jew" depicted in supplication on the reverse has been plausibly identified by Michael Harlan as the Judaean high priest Aristobulus II, who was deposed by Pompey the Great after his siege of Jerusalem in 63 BC. The moneyer, Aulus Plautius, is known to have been a partisan of Pompey's, and his choice of coin types suggests he served under Pompey in the campaign.