Lot 4
Judaea, Yehud (Judah). Silver Gerah (0.45 g), ca. 375-332 BCE. Head of Persian king wearing jagged crown right; below the head, a circular motif due to a clashed die error. Rev. 'YHD' (Yehud), owl standing right, head facing; in upper left field, lily. (TJC 6; Hendin 1057). Toned. Extremely fine. Estimate $2,000UP
Purchased privately from H. Kriendler at the NYINC, December 1987.
This coin combines types related to the two competing influences on Judaean political and monetary affairs in the fourth century BCE. The obverse features a stylized head wearing a crenellated crown - almost certainly intended to represent the Persian Great King who ruled over Judaea as the administrative district of Yehud - and an owl copied from contemporary coins of Athens, whose coins had become an international symbol of good money despite frequent Athenian conflict with Persian interests. Here, the olive spray that normally accompanies the owl on official Athenian coins has been transformed into a lily, the emblem of Jerusalem.
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| Realized $3,422 |
