Ancient Coin – Jerusalem Lily 130 BCE
Coin-Jerusalem-Lily
The Jerusalem Lily
The Seleucid King Antiochus VII, after having besieged Jerusalem and established his Hellenstic rule in Judaea
(132-130 BCE), struck small bronze coins under the local rule of the Jewish Maccabean leader John Hyrcanus I.
These coins did not bear his portrait, so as not offend the Jewish population who did not depict portraits on coins, in keeping with the prohibition in the second of the ten commandments.
The reverse of the coins depicted a lily.
The lily was one of the decorations on the capitals of Jachin and Boaz Columns which stood at the entrance to the Holy Temple and was one of the symbols of Jerusalem.
The obverse depicted an inverted anchor, the well-known Seleucid dynastic symbol, with Greek insciption ‘Of King Antiochus, Benefactor’ and date.
The size and metal of the coins associate them with the Jewish Prutot struck by the Hasmoneans; the Jerusalem Lily. Our inventory changes, and we assure that the lily coin we deliver is very fine and the best in the world. Your coin arrives with a certificate of authenticity signed by the official Israeli antiquities dealer.
Tags: 9 Av, antique, coins, judaica
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