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1/2 Prutah - Alexander Jannaeus
| Issuer | Judea |
|---|---|
| Year | 103 BC - 76 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Central upright palm branch flanked on either side by a paleo-Hebrew legend arranged vertically in the field, reading 'Yehonatan the King.' The design is enclosed within a border of dots. The strike is characteristic of Hasmonean hand-struck bronze coinage, with an irregular flan typical of the period. |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | המלך יהונתן (Translation: Yehonatan the King) |
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| Additional information |
Alexander Jannaeus ruled the Hasmonean kingdom at its greatest territorial extent, but his reign was marked by savage civil war — a prolonged conflict with the Pharisees that, by Josephus's account, cost the lives of some 50,000 Jews. His coinage was struck in enormous quantities, almost certainly to supply pay and commerce across a kingdom constantly mobilized for internal and external warfare. The half prutah was the smallest denomination in circulation, essentially the fractional coinage of a population that needed change for daily market transactions.
Hendin 1147 is among the most frequently encountered Hasmonean coin types, which is itself telling — survival in numbers this large points to original mintage on an industrial scale.