Prutah - John Hyrcanus I

John Hyrcanus I was the first Hasmonean ruler to strike coins in Judea — a deliberate assertion of independence following decades of Seleucid domination. The right to mint was politically charged; Antiochus VII had explicitly revoked it, and Hyrcanus only resumed coinage after Antiochus died on campaign against the Parthians in 129 BC, leaving the Seleucid grip on Judea permanently broken.

Hendin 1135 is among the most frequently encountered Hasmonean types, struck over a thirty-year reign with considerable die variation. The paleo-Hebrew inscription rather than Greek script was a conscious political choice.