Lot 2758

Description

Palestine, Judaea, John Hyrkanos I (Yehohanan), (134-104 B.C.), Jerusalem mint, copper prutahs, AE 13, (1.39, 1.42, 1.52, 1.72, 1.94, 1.96 g), obv. legend in four lines (Yehphanan, the High Priest and the Council of the Jews), all within wreath, rev. double cornucopiae adorned with ribbons, pomegranate between, (S. 6096, H.1141, AJC I, Group La, cf.Kaufman "Unrecorded Hasmonean Coins From the J.CH. Kaufman Collection", Jerusalem, 1995, HGC 10, 631). Mostly very fine with reasonable clear Hebrew legends. (6)

The type has been reattributed to John Hyrcanus I instead of John Hyrcanus II as attributed by Meshorer and other scholars because of a late 1987 hoard of about 700 coins which contained only the issues that referred to "Yehohanan the High Priest" with issues from Seleucid coins of the 2nd century B.C. and a very early Nabataean coin. Consequently Hendin and Qedar announced the find as clearly establishing these issues to the first Hasmonean ruler rather than the grandson. This empirical proof established the sequence of issues and shortly after its discovery Meshorer endorsed the order in his Addendum I, although his own earlier AJC volumes (1982) had the coins issued to the grandson.