Obverse: Upside Down Anchor Encircled by
Greek
Inscription “King Alexander”
Reverse: Star of Eight Rays Surrounded by a
Diadem
The ancient Kingdom of Judea reached the
height
of its power during the reign of the
Maccabean
(or Hasmonean) King Alexander Jannaeus,
who
ruled Ancient Israel from 103-76 B.C. The
youngest son of Jehohanan Hyrcanus,
Jannaeus
was imprisoned for a year by his oldest
brother,
Aristobulus. Released by his widowed sister-
in-
law, Salome, whom he later married,
Alexander
conquered a series of coastal cities from
Gaza to
Carmel, extending Judean control from the
Mediterranean to Gadara across the Jordan
River.
He ruled more territory than any Judean king
since the time of Solomon. Yet he faced
mounting criticism from Jews inside
Jerusalem
for embracing the increasing Hellenization of
the
Near East. Eventually, a civil war erupted
between
those forces loyal to Jannaeus and the pious
rebels who enlisted the aid of King Demetrios
of
Syria, whose Kingdom, the Seleucids, once
ruled
the lands of Judea and Samaria before
Maccabean
Independence. However, after being led to a
stunning victory by Demetrios’ forces, the
rebels
soon realized that the Syrian army planned to
march onwards into Jerusalem and they
rallied
around their King Jannaeus. In the end,
Alexander met his fate on the battlefield, on
the
outskirts of Gadara, ever battling to secure
the
borders of his Kingdom.
How many hands have touched a coin in
your
pocket or your purse? What eras and lands
have
the coin traversed on its journey into our
possession? As we reach into our pockets to
pull
out some change, we rarely hesitate to think
of
who touched the coin before us, or where the
coin will venture to after us. More than
money,
coins are a symbol of the state that struck
them,
of a specific time and place, whether
contemporary currencies or artifacts of long
forgotten empires. This stunning hand-struck
coin reveals an expertise of craftsmanship
and
intricate sculptural details that are often
lacking
in contemporary machine-made currencies.
The
coins of Alexander Jannaeus include
inscriptions
in both Hebrew and Greek, indicating the
influence of Hellenized areas within Judea.
Depicted on the obverse, the anchor,
depicted
upside down, as it might be seen hung on the
side of a boat ready for use, was adopted
from
the Seleucids, who used it to symbolize their
naval strength. On the reverse, the star
symbolizes heaven. The struggle of Jewish
independence, as represented by this coin,
has in
modern times finally come to an end. This
coin
reconnects us with the past, with those who
fought to maintain their independence
against
oppressive empires that sought to dominate
them and their land.
