HASMONEAN, ALEXANDER JANNAEUS AND HIS SUCCESSORS AE PRUTAH / WIDOWS MITE
Hendin 6187, Very Fine, 15.4mm, 1.66 grams, Struck Circa. 103 - 40 B.C.E.
Obverse: Inscription within wreath, "Yehonatan the High Priest and the Council of the Judaeans" in crude Paleo-Hebrew
Reverse: Double cornucopia adorned with ribbons, pomegranate between horns
A Very Unusual crude prutah including on the wreath! A small amount of the original flan strip still protruding. We could not find this die published in they myriad of dies in TJC as well as Kaufman Unrecorded Hasmonean coins both volumes. It is the first we can recall seeing and a very curious piece. Like the other crude coins of Jannaeus we cannot rule out that this coin was struck by one of his successors, Salome Alexandra or John Hyrcanus II. GBC dates these crude issues of Jannaeus up to 76 B.C.E. but they could have been struck until 40 B.C.E.
