Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Prutah - Alexander Jannaeus
| Issuer | Judea |
|---|---|
| Year | 104 BC - 76 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Hendin 5th#1148 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | An inverted anchor with a crossbar and curved flukes is depicted centrally within a circular incuse ring or dotted circle, itself surrounded by a Greek legend distributed around the outer field. The anchor is a dynastic emblem closely associated with the Hasmonean and Seleucid traditions, here rendered in a simplified, hammered style consistent with late second-century BC Judaean coinage. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Plain |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Alexander Jannaeus ruled as both king and high priest of Judea, and his coinage reflects the political tightrope he walked between Hellenistic ambition and Jewish religious law. The anchor-and-star type prutot — the most prolific of his issues — were struck in such quantities that they remain the single most commonly encountered ancient Jewish coin on the market today. His 27-year reign saw near-constant warfare, a civil war that cost tens of thousands of lives, and a brief period where Pharisee opposition was so fierce he reportedly crucified 800 opponents at a single banquet.
Many surviving examples show significant die wear and off-center strikes, a predictable consequence of mass production under a mint prioritizing volume over precision.