Judean, John Hyrcanus II 63-40 BC

Doucet, that is one mighty fine judean coin!

What lettering is there looks very intact. I like the toning. The cornucopiae are very nicely centered. wish I could help with the Hebrew but that is a no go.

I thought the "cuts" on the flan edges were refered to as "sprues". It is my understanding that the sprues are from the blank that was used in the die to make the coin. If my understanding is correct; what I find very interesting about your coin is what appears to me as "rolling over" of the sprue on the lower left of the obverse. Of course I have been at this ancient coin thing for less than two years and what I am saying may make no sense at all.

Anyway. Great coin! Thanks for sharing!

Your coin is quite interesting. I only own one Judean coin which happens to have been struck by John Hyrcanus I. I posted it a while back. It doesn't look anything like your coin and it has Greek lettering rather than Hebrew.

I also find the double Cornucopiae intrigueing as well. I just posted a Sep Severus coin from Emesa on Doug's 25 favorite thread which has the double Cornucopiae. Other then the traditional meaning of a cornucopiae meaning the "horn of plenty", I have no idea what other meaning a double Cornucopiae could have

Thanks JW, I recall seeing both the coins you refer to. It seems the Judean coin had a few remarkable traits about it and the S.Severus is one that I would surely like to have an example of.

It's interesting how your John Hyrcanus I coin has Greek inscriptions.

I have never seen one like this before, in such good condition!

This one took a little time, as there are many different versions of these coins from John Hyrcanus I, Judah Aristobulus (oldest son of Hyrcanus I) and Alexander Jannaeus (younger son of Hyrcanus I) that have very similar obverses and reverses. It appears that the same die engraver or at least the same workshop did both later Aristobulus and early Jannaueus coins.
However, after looking closely at the reverse on this coin, I'm pretty confident that it is from John Hyrcanus I.
The Greek 'A' is at the top of the inscripton which is in Paleo-Hebrew text and says, 'Yehohanan the High Priest and the Council of the Jews' within the wreath. That 'A' may stand for the relationship that Hyrcanus had with Antiochus VII, Seleucid king and his successor Alexander Zebina (128-123 BC). Once all ties were cut with the Seleucids, the 'A' was no longer used. At least that is one theory.
The reverse is the double cornucopia adorned with ribbons, pomegranate between horns, border of dots. The double cornucopia was one of the most popular religious symbols of the ancient world. On Hellenistic coins, the cornucopia is often associated with Tyche, the city of goddess, or Demeter, goddess of the earth. It was reinterpreted and given some Jewish meaning, perhaps connected with the fertility of the land of Israel. It may have been copied by Hyrcanus from a coin minted by Alexander Zebina, the Selucid king and friend of Hyrcanus.
Average weight is about 1.92 grams.
You'll find this in David Hendin's book Guide to Biblical Coins, Fifth Editon. #1132
John Hyrcanus I ruled from 135 BC until his death in 104 BC. He was the son of Simon and nephew of the folk hero Judah the Maccabee. According to Josephus, Hyrcanus was endowed with three godly gifts - temporal power, the dignity of a high priest and the gift of prophecy.
But when he died at the age of 60 after a 31 year reign, the young Jewish kingdom lost a great deal of prestige. The kingdow slowly descended into chaos after his son's and grandson's (Hyrcanus II, 67 and 63-40 BC) reign's came to an end. Then followed the Idumaean reign of the Herod's which lasted more than a century in various forms.
This coin Doucet is valued at between $35 and $150. And yours is in better than average condition.
Definetly a nice find.

oxos, thanks for all that information, it's very helpful.

I knew there was an A at the top of obverse from these sellers description but I didn't know it's significance.

Also thanks for the Cornucopia-Zabina info. as I look for the 'Cornucopiae Trail'

Regards

All nice coins. These look very nice in this condition and great color too.