Obverse: Hebrew Inscription Translated as
"Yehohanan the
High Priest of the Community of the Jews"
Reverse: Double Cornucopia Adorned with
Ribbons, and Pomegranate Arising between
Horns, with a Border of Dots
Reverse
With the decline in power of the ruling Seleucid
dynasty of Syria in the second century B.C., the
Maccabeans began to assert greater political
independence for the Jewish people. Upon the
death of Alexander Jannaeus in 76 B.C., his
widow Salome Alexandra took over the reigns of
power. However, because a woman could not
hold the office of high priest, this title was given
to her son by Jannaeus, Yehohanan Hyrcanus II.
When Salome died in 67 B.C., a civil war broke
out between Hyrcanus and his brother
Aristobulus II that lasted four years, until the
Roman general Pompey intervened. Pompey then
conquered Jerusalem but left the powers of
Yehohanan Hyrcanus as high Priest intact. From
this time onward, the Romans took an active
hand in the political affairs of Judea. One of John
Hyrcanus chief advisors was Antipater the
Idumean who saw that his own son Herod was
eventually installed on the throne after the death
of Hyrcanus in 40 B.C.
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
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 and struggled for their
freedom against an oppressive empire over two
thousand year ago.
