AGRIPPA I AE PRUTAH, RARE DOUBLE SIDED GRAIN TYPE
Hendin 1244var, Very Fine, 17mm, 2.71 grams, Struck 41/42 C.E..
Obverse: Filed, see below
Reverse: Date LS (Year 6 - 41/42 C.E.) flanks three ears of barley and leaves
UNUSUAL and something we have not seen before. One side of the coin was completely bears ancient file marks in the same style of Bar Kokhba.
There are two possibilities for why this was done.
A. An individual who lived near the time of the coins minting, wished to make a jewelry item or amulet of the coin, and thus filed down a flat surface. Then for some reason they decided to abandon the project altogether.
B. Perhaps a more likely reason is that the coin was filed down by Bar Kochba's men to strike a small bronze. The prutah still weighs 2.71 grams after losing much of its mass and was probably well over three grams, perhaps four before the filing. However after filing of the obverse they realized that there is simply not enough "meat" for striking and thus they abandoned the coin.
