Lot 26
Judaea, Hasmonean Kingdom. Mattathias Antigonos (Mattatayah). Æ 8 Prutot (14.11 g), 40-37 BCE. Jerusalem. 'Mattatayah the High Priest and Council of the Jews' (Paleo-Hebrew), double cornucopiae. Rev. [BACIΛEΩ]C ANTI[ΓONOY], ivy wreath tied with ribbons. (TJC 36; Hendin 1162). Dark desert-green patina. Another outstanding example. Choice very fine. Estimate $600UP
Ex Superior (3 December 1987), lot 559.
The 8-prutah and the following 4-prutah denominations of Mattathias Antigonus take their typological cues from the coinages of earlier Hasmonaean rulers as a means of presenting him as a legitimate ruler. The cornucopiae and wreath types look back to the heady days of John Hyrcanus I (134-104 BCE) and the foundation of the fully autonomous Hasmonaean Jewish state while the Paleo-Hebrew legend identifying him as High Priest and the Greek legend naming him as king follow the pattern established by Alexander Jannaeus (103-76 BCE).
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| Realized $496 |
