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Prutah - John Hyrcanus I
| Issuer | Judea |
|---|---|
| Year | 134 BC - 104 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Five-line Paleo-Hebrew inscription arranged within a decorative wreath. The legend reads 'Yehohanan the High Priest and the Council of the Jews,' identifying the issuing authority in the ancient Hebrew script used during the Hasmonean period. The wreath border, rendered in a style typical of Hasmonean coinage, frames the inscription on all sides. The lettering is crudely struck, as is characteristic of this denomination, with visible irregularities in the flan. |
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| Reverse description | Double cornucopia (crossed horns of plenty) adorned with ribbons or fillets, depicted facing outward symmetrically. A pomegranate is placed between the two horns at their apex, a motif emblematic of Hasmonean royal and priestly coinage. This particular variety bears no Greek monogram in the field, distinguishing it from related issues that display monograms such as Α or ΑΠ. The design is characteristic of the Hasmonean dynasty's adoption of Hellenistic iconographic conventions adapted to Jewish religious sensibilities. |
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| Additional information |
John Hyrcanus I ruled as both High Priest and civil leader of Judea following the murder of his father Simon Maccabee in 134 BC — a dynastic consolidation that effectively ended the collegial model of Hasmonean governance. His coinage was among the first struck by a Judean ruler in the region, a deliberate assertion of political autonomy even as his realm technically remained a client state under Seleucid and later Roman influence. The prutah denomination served the lowest tier of daily commerce, and these bronzes circulated heavily.
Hendin 1133 is one of the more frequently encountered Hasmonean types, partly because Hyrcanus ruled for three decades.