Lot 265: Judaea, Hasmonean Kingdom. Mattathias Antigonos. 40-37 B.C.E. Æ 8 prutot. Jerusalem.

Judaea, Hasmonean Kingdom. Mattathias Antigonos. 40-37 B.C.E. Æ 8 prutot (22 mm, 12.44 g). Jerusalem. 'Mattatayah the High Priest and Council of the Jews' (Paleo-Hebrew), double cornucopiae / [ΒΑCΙΛΕΩC ΑΝΤΙΓ]ΟΝΟΥ, ivy wreath tied with ribbons. TJC 36; Hendin 1162. Green patina with sandy deposits, flaking of the patina on reverse. Very fine / fine.

In 40 B.C.E., at the head of a Parthian army, Mattathias II Antigonus drove Herod the Great and his puppet, the Hasmonaean ethnarch, John Hyrcanus II, out of Jerusalem and was proclaimed king and High Priest by the Parthians and his Jewish supporters. Unfortunately, the wily Herod was not so easily defeated and returned in 39 B.C.E. armed with recognition as the Roman client-king of Judaea. The hapless Mattathias II was ultimately defeated and crucified for his troubles, leaving Judaea to begin a new period in its troubled history under the often hated Herodian dynasty.

• Offered By: Barry P. Murphy
• Lot #: 265
• Listing #: 219883
• Closed: Friday, June 30, 2017 4:28:00 PM CT
• Estimate: $150