Israel Numismatic Research

Published by the Israel Numismatic Society

Volume 11  2016

Contents

3 Yehoshua Zlotnik: Samarian Coin Types and Their Denominations

11 Haim Gitler and Oren Tal: Reclassifying Persian-Period Philistian Coins: Some New Identifications

23 Alexander Fantalkin, Mati Johananoff and Shahar Krispin: Persian-Period Philistian Coins from Ashdod-Yam

29 Daniel Wolf: New Observations on the Ptolemaic Bronze Coinage of Tyre

47 Edward E. Cohen: Order of the Date Numerals on the Sheqels of Tyre

63 Donald T. Ariel: Which Side is Up? The Jerusalem Mint and its Bevelled Coins

95 Nathan W. Bower, David B. Hendin and Stephen E. Burt: A Thermomechanical Study of Judean Prutot Minting Methods

111 David B. Hendin and Jean-Philippe Fontanille: A Thunderbolt and Laurel on a Herod Philip Coin

119 David B. Hendin and Ronen Bachar: An Agrippa I Coin Reattributed to Gaba

127 Yoav Farhi and Boris Bessarabov: A Lead Coin from the Bar Kokhba Revolt

135 Nitzan Amitai-Preiss and Ronen Bachar: An Arab-Byzantine Coin of Yubna (Iamnia)

141 David Woods: Abila: A Phantom Arab-Byzantine Mint

153 David J. Wasserstein and Ariel Berman: A Hoard of Early ‘Abbasid Dirhams from Sepphoris

163 Robert Kool and Uzi ‘Ad: A Late Twelfth-Century Silver Purse Hoard from Ibelin

181 David J. Wasserstein: The Coinage of the Islamic State  Preview



 

Abstracts

 3 Yehoshua Zlotnik: Samarian Coin Types and Their Denominations
The Persian-period Samarian mint produced a large number of types of silver coins in denominations
of drachm, obol, hemiobol and quarter obol. The paper presents the weight ranges for each
denomination, and discusses the phenomenon of multiple denominations for known types.
Finally, an unpublished type and a couple of new variants are described.

11 Haim Gitler and Oren Tal: Reclassifying Persian-Period Philistian Coins: Some New Identifications
This article corrects the former attribution of 12 Persian-period Palestinian coin types, based
mainly on iconographic criteria. Focusing on recently published and still unpublished material,
especially of the Philistian series, we attempt to provide a reassessment of some coins with
disputed mint attributions.

23 Alexander Fantalkin, Mati Johananoff and Shahar Krispin: Persian-Period Philistian Coins from Ashdod-Yam
The group of Persian-period Philistian coins described here was found during two seasons of
renewed excavations at the site of Ashdod-Yam. This discovery, from a site located in the heart
of Philistia and connected to Ashdod, allows the reassessment of certain types of Persian-period
coins, hitherto known only from unprovenanced collections.

29 Daniel Wolf: New Observations on the Ptolemaic Bronze Coinage of Tyre
Recently discovered Tyrian types of Ptolemaic bronze coins and relationships among Tyrian
types are presented with new quantitative metrological analyses to extend the synthesis of
Tyrian Ptolemaic bronze coinage that has developed over recent decades

47 Edward E. Cohen: Order of the Date Numerals on the Sheqels of Tyre
The order of writing Greek numerals for the year followed geographic patterns for most ancient
coins and in particular for the autonomous sheqels and half sheqels of Tyre. In 55/4 BCE, Tyrian
autonomous era year 72, the Greek letters forming the date on the silver Tyrian sheqels changed
order for the duration of these coins. Before this year, the order of the numerals matched that
on most other coins of Phoenicia. Afterward the order followed that on most coins struck in the
southern Levant. One application of this numerical history confirms the consensus that Tyre
struck all the sheqels and half sheqels naming the mint.

63 Donald T. Ariel: Which Side is Up? The Jerusalem Mint and its Bevelled Coins
More than 3,000 coins from the Jerusalem mint struck on bevelled flans were examined to
determine on which iconographical side the bevelling appears. The results suggest that throughout
its operation the mint remained dimly aware of the Hellenistic practice of placing the bevelled
sides of the flans on what were apparently obverse dies. Against the backdrop of diachronic
change in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid minting practices, this allows for better estimations for
determining the obverses and reverses of Jerusalem’s coin types.

95 Nathan W. Bower, David B. Hendin and Stephen E. Burt: A Thermomechanical Study of Judean Prutot Minting Methods
Forty-five bronze Judean prutah coins from rulers spanning the first centuries BCE and CE
were analyzed using metallography, x-ray diffraction (XRD) and x-ray fluorescence (XRF).
These analyses help elucidate how coins were minted in ancient Judea before, during and after
the Roman occupation. The results indicate connected flans were usually struck as they were
cooling from being cast. They also suggest reheating of flans became more common during
and after the Roman occupation.

111 David B. Hendin and Jean-Philippe Fontanille: A Thunderbolt and Laurel on a Herod Philip Coin
A clear thunderbolt motif is newly described on an obverse die of a coin of Herod Philip (the
tetrarch). A thunderbolt with a laurel branch suggests a symbol of protection and honor toward
Tiberius and the deified Augustus. In addition, use of this die in four separate years of minting
may offer clues regarding the nature of minting in the ancient southern Levant.

119 David B. Hendin and Ronen Bachar: An Agrippa I Coin Reattributed to Gaba
A bronze coin previously believed to have been struck under Agrippa I is shown to more likely
be an issue of the ancient city of Gaba. Supporting this reattribution are a better understanding
of the Greek legend on the coin and a strong similarity between the tetrastyle temple shown on
it and another two coins found at Gaba, and attributed to that mint, from the time of Domitian,
by Kindler (1988). Furthermore, a considerably earlier date is suggested for the coin.

127 Yoav Farhi and Boris Bessarabov: A Lead Coin from the Bar Kokhba Revolt
A lead coin, struck with a known obverse die (and possibly a known reverse die as well)
in the undated Bar Kokhba medium bronzes category, seems to be the first known lead
coin from the Bar Kokhba revolt.

135 Nitzan Amitai-Preiss and Ronen Bachar: An Arab-Byzantine Coin of Yubna (Iamnia)
A new coin bearing the mint name Yamniya in Arabic is understood to represent a transcription
of the Greek name of Yavne. In Greek sources of the Early Roman period and until the Muslim
conquest Iamniya was the name both of the city of Yavne and its port. The Yamniya coin may
actually have anteceded the Arab-Byzantine coin reading Yubna. This would make it the first
coin ever minted by Yavne (or its port). Alternatively, the name Yamniyah could suggest that
the coin was struck by a different minting authority from the Yubna issues.

141 David Woods: Abila: A Phantom Arab-Byzantine Mint
It has been argued that the obverse legends of a small group of coins point to the existence
of a mint striking Arab-Byzantine coinage of the Imperial Image type at Abila during the late
seventh century CE. It is argued here that the legends on these coins have been misread, and
that they preserve corrupt readings of the name of Gerasa rather than of Abila, although whether
they are the genuine product of Gerasa or the product of some ‘irregular’ mint nearby instead
remains unclear.

153 David J. Wasserstein and Ariel Berman: A Hoard of Early ‘Abbasid Dirhams from Sepphoris
This article publishes and discusses a small (seven-coin) hoard from Sepphoris/Ẓippori/
Saffuriyya. The coins, of silver, represent four, possibly five, mints and three rulers, and cover
half a century at the start of ‘Abbasid rule. The mint of Dimashq is rare for ‘Abbasid silver; so
too Ṣūr (Tyre), known otherwise for fulūs; and Tabariyya may also be represented. The coins
of Ṣūr add to our knowledge of variation in the mint name of that city in the early ‘Abbasid
period. The presence of four, possibly five, coins from mints close to Sepphoris may point to
local circulation of small mintings.

163 Robert Kool and Uzi ‘Ad: A Late Twelfth-Century Silver Purse Hoard from Ibelin
A late twelfth-century hoard holding 53 Frankish billon deniers and Ayyubid silver dirhams
was excavated on the lower western fringes of Tel Yavneh. The hoard consists of a small
purse of money for daily use and is one of few known material remains of the Crusader castle
and settlement of Ibelin, situated 20 km south of Jaffa. The hoard’s close-fitting deposit date
narrowly chronicles Ibelin’s conquest by Saladin and the forces of the Third Crusade led by
Richard the Lionheart and provides further insight into the monetary history of the region at
the end of the twelfth century.

181 David J. Wasserstein: The Coinage of the Islamic State
The Islamic State announced in late 2014 that it would issue coins. Made of both precious
metals (gold and silver) and base metal, they were to replace the “worthless” paper currencies
of Syria and Iraq and the U.S. dollar. This article studies the Islamic background to this proposed
new currency, the justification for the use of precious metals, and the designs of the new coins
themselves and the messages that they are intended to propagate.