Catalog
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| Issuer | Yehud Medinata, Satrapy of |
|---|---|
| Year | 350 BC - 330 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Gerahl = 1/20 Shekel |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Helmeted head of Athena facing right, the helmet decorated with an olive wreath, rendered in the Athenian style. The portrait is boldly struck in high relief relative to the diminutive flan, with characteristic archaic facial features. The design closely imitates contemporary Athenian coinage, reflecting the cultural and commercial influence of Athens throughout the Persian-period Levant. |
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| Reverse lettering | יהד (Translation: Yehud) |
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| Additional information |
Yehud Medinata — "the province of Judah" — was a Persian administrative district carved out of the former Judahite heartland after Babylonian captivity. The right to strike coin was a privilege extended by the Achaemenid crown to certain loyal provinces, and Yehud used it to produce some of the smallest silver coinage in the ancient world. These tiny issues circulated alongside Persian sigloi and Athenian fractions in a regional economy where precious metal was weighed as much as counted.
The gerah itself is a biblical unit — one-twentieth of a shekel — which makes the denomination a deliberate act of cultural continuity within an imperial administrative framework.