Ancient Middle Eastern Coins

Alexander Jannaeus was a member of the Hasmonean dynasty and ruled Judaea from 103-76 B.C., extending Judaea to its most dominant in antiquity. He did this through clever maneuvering between the two Ptolemaic powers of Ptolemy IX and Cleopatra III, conquering more land while they fought amongst themselves. He then brutally suppressed a civil war, leaving him the master of Judaea. Interestingly after a period of peace, he left the kingdom to his wife (Salome Alexandra) when he died, not his sons! We have a little group of his bronze Prutah showing crossed cornucopiae on the obverse with ‘Yehonatan the High Priest and the Council of the Jews’ in Paleo-Hebrew within a wreath on the reverse. They are an attractive Very Fine and with not many available I suspect they will sell out fast.

The Himyarite Kingdom was part of ancient Yemen, whose capital was Zatar. They were a trading nation between East Africa and the Roman or Mediterranean world. They were known for their trade-in Frankincense and Myrrh and their geographical position made them very important for trade. This choice silver coin is a Scyphate Quinarius from the 1st or 2nd Century AD, so it is about 1800-1900 years old and was struck in Raidan. There is a portrait of a man on one side and a small portrait of a man on the other side. These coins are basically in as struck Mint condition, cup-shaped. We did find a similar coin on an American dealer list about two years ago. It was priced at $195.00 (£150) and had sold quite quickly. Our coins are as nice or better, but our price is far more attractive.

When Mithradates II came to the throne in 121 B.C. the Parthian Empire was on the brink of collapse. With issues internally and enemies on all sides, he methodically dealt with the problems so efficiently that he even managed to further expand the empire to its greatest extent. This bought him into contact with the Han Chinese in the East and Romans in the West, Parthia grew rich on the trade with and between the two. For this revival, he is known by the epithet, ‘the Great’ and died around 91 B.C. Mithradates II slowly replaced the Hellenistic imagery on Parthian coins as he distanced himself from the Greek invaders and harked back to the Persian Achaemenid Empire of old. We offer silver drachm from early in his reign when on the reverse he had replaced the Greek Omphalos rock the Archer (Arsaces I) was seated on with a Persian high-backed seat seen in the photo example. We have a very limited amount of these silver drachm in Extremely Fine condition, these coins remain our best source of information on the Parthian Empire.

We used to know Pacorus (A.D. 78-110) of the Parthian Empire as ‘the Second’ because of a Pacorus recorded in 39 B.C. but recent scholarship indicates he was only ever a prince, not king! So, the later Pacorus is now known as Pacorus the First. Not confusing at all, right?! Well, the man now known as Pacorus the First had an interesting reign. He defeated two usurpers, he supported a Nero pretender against the Romans (eventually executing him), and he expanded long distance trade with China, convincing them not to travel to Rome, keeping them all to himself! He had a long and successful reign during which time Parthia was Rome’s major rival but he lasted from Vespasian to Trajan, five emperors’ worth of stability. We have bought a group of his artistic Silver Drachms. They show his diademed bust on the obverse with his pointed beard & on the reverse the first Parthian ruler (Arsaces I) shown with blundered Greek legend around. These coins are at least Good Extremely Fine with the majority being Mint state! We don’t see Parthian groups very often but if these sell well, we will have to try to get more rulers… Please Note: PHOTOGRAPHY IS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE COIN SUPPLIED.

Persian Achaemenid Empire. Darius I - Xerxes II. Ca. 485-420 B.C. AR Siglos. Persian king/hero kneeling right holding bow & spear / Incuse punch. About Very Fine & Scarce archaic issue. From the time of the Greco-Persian wars.

Persian Achaemenid Empire. Darius II. Ca. 425-403 B.C. AR Siglos. Persian king/hero kneeling right holding bow & spear / Incuse punch. About Very Fine & Scarce. This is the period of Achaemenid, Spartan & Athenian decline, leading to the rise of Macedon!

These silver tetradrachms of Philip I were struck around 88-75 BC and have the diademed bust of Philip I on the obverse and, on the reverse, Zeus enthroned holding a sceptre in his left hand and Nike in his right hand who is crowning Zeus with a wreath. Around the outside is the inscription (reading from right to left) Baslieou Philippou Epiphanou Philadelphou “of King Philip Philadelphos (God) Manifest”. They are very affordable large silver coins from the ancient Seleucid Empire which ruled Syria at the time.

When the Arabs conquered Iran, one small pocket of resistance held out in the mountains of Ṭabarestān, led by a governor of the province, a Sasanian prince. The area was named after the Tapurians who had been deported there by the Parthian king Phraates I and was famous for its silk fabrics. In the early 8th century (711-712), they began issuing these distinctive coins like those of the Sasanians but with half the weight. The coins have a portrait of a Sasanian emperor, to the right of the portrait is a ruler or governor’s name written in Pahlavi script. On the reverse there is a Zoroastrian fire altar with attendants on either side. Zoroastrianism was the first religion known to be practised in western Asiatic history. At the far left is the year of issue expressed in words, and at the right is the place of minting, TPWRSTʾN (Ṭabarestān). These coins are now around 1250 years old and are in wonderful condition.

This beautiful Silver Drachm was struck between 35 B.C. and A.D. 10 in the reign of the Indo-Scythian king Azes II, from what is now modern Pakistan. The coins from the Indo-Greeks and Indo-Scythians are thought to be the first bi-lingual coin as the legends are in Kharoshti and Greek. They grade Very Fine with the obverse showing the king on horseback and on the reverse Athena standing left. In America, these are sometimes sold as a coin from one the Three Wise Men at Christ’s birth because he was known as the ‘King from the East’.

Kushan Kingdom. Vima Kadphises. 100-128 A.D.. AE. Tetradrachm. Obverse. The king standing to left sacrificing over an altar, a trident to left and a club to right. Reverse. Siva standing facing holding a trident, a humped Bull standing to right in the background. Good Very Fine and Scarce

This small bronze coin was the smallest coin in Jewish currency, issued ca 103-76BC. It is best known because of what Jesus Christ said about it. When a widow gave one as a gift for charity, a merchant made fun of her. Jesus said (Mark 12:41-44 and Luke 21:1), ‘This poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast in the treasury’. In other words, the Mite or Prutah meant more to that woman than the gold given by the rich man. We have a nice selection of these small, well circulated, and important bronze coins. Great as a gift as most people have heard of the fabled Widow’s Mite. Don’t expect them to be anything but a small crudely struck bronze coin, but do expect to have something that is rather important in history as well as in life.