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Prutah - John Hyrcanus I
| Issuer | Judea |
|---|---|
| Year | 135 BC - 104 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Prutah (140 BC-95 AD) |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Double cornucopia (dikeras) depicted addorsed and adorned with ribbons or fillets, with a pomegranate pendant between the horns, all within a border of dots. The cornucopiae are rendered in the stylized manner characteristic of Hasmonean bronze coinage, representing abundance and prosperity. Some specimens exhibit a Greek monogram, tentatively identified as the letter alpha, appearing in various positions within the field. The design is a hallmark of Hasmonean dynastic imagery and appears consistently across the prutot of John Hyrcanus I. |
| Reverse script | Greek |
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| Additional information |
John Hyrcanus I ruled as both High Priest and ethnarch following the murder of his father Simon Maccabaeus at a dinner party in Jericho in 134 BC — a killing orchestrated by his own brother-in-law, Ptolemy son of Abubus. These small bronzes represent the first independent Jewish coinage, a direct assertion of political autonomy made possible by the Seleucid Empire's accelerating collapse under Antiochus VII Sidetes, who died campaigning in Parthia in 129 BC and left Judea free of foreign tribute obligations almost overnight.
Hyrcanus never struck silver — that privilege was withheld by Hasmonean convention from rulers who had not yet claimed the royal title.