Rare Ancient Shekel Of Tyre (fourrée)
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:42831515 |
Rare Shekel of Tyre (fourrée)13.4 grams
The Shekel (or sheqel) of Tyre (as it is called) wasactually the only SILVER coin that Herod the Great minted at Jerusalem.a. Production of the Tyrian shekel at the Tyre mintoccurred 125 - 19 BC. This is the Pre-Herodian temple Shekel tax each Jew hadto pay into the sanctuary treasury.b. When Herod completed his new temple in Jerusalem in 18BC, he transferred the minting of this offici...al temple currency from the cityof Tyre to Jerusalem.c. "Since no silver coins recognizedly minted byHerod have been found, numismatists have despaired in their search for them andhave accustomed themselves to the idea that Herod' s greatness did not findexpression in coins in particular... And now, in one of the numismatic studiescarried out recently, it seems that we have obtained the answer to the questionof Herod' s silver coinage from an unexpected source:the "Tyrian shekels" or "Tyrian Maneh." (A Treasuryof Jewish Coins, Ya'akov Meshorer, p71, 2001 AD)d. The "KAP" monogram (Kratos Romaion: power of the Romans) that appears on all shekels after 18 BC isthe official mark of Herod's coin minted in Jerusalem. e. "The minting place ofthe Tyre sheqels has been a subject of discussion since Meshorer'srevolutionary concept, published in 1982, that Herod the Great and theauthorities at the Jerusalem Temple feared a cessation of minting in Tyre, andtransferred this issue to a mint in Jerusalem in around 19/18 BCE. At thistime, Meshorer observed, the letters KAP, shortened to KP after the first fewyears, appeared on virtually all of the Tyre sheqels, where variousinitials or monograms had appeared on earlier coins. He suggested the lettersKP abbreviated Kratos Romaion (power of the Romans). One of Meshorer'sprincipal arguments was based on the decline in style of Tyre sheqels ofthe later type. He believed this degradation was due to the lack of skill ofJewish mintmasters, not to mention their disinterest in the pagan designs thatthey treated with disdain. He referred to them as barbaric and clunky, andsuggested their smaller, thicker shape hinted they were direct predecessors tothe thick sheqels struck by the Jews during the Jewish War." (Guide to Biblical coins, David Hendin, p479, 2010 AD)
The Shekel (or sheqel) of Tyre (as it is called) wasactually the only SILVER coin that Herod the Great minted at Jerusalem.a. Production of the Tyrian shekel at the Tyre mintoccurred 125 - 19 BC. This is the Pre-Herodian temple Shekel tax each Jew hadto pay into the sanctuary treasury.b. When Herod completed his new temple in Jerusalem in 18BC, he transferred the minting of this offici...al temple currency from the cityof Tyre to Jerusalem.c. "Since no silver coins recognizedly minted byHerod have been found, numismatists have despaired in their search for them andhave accustomed themselves to the idea that Herod' s greatness did not findexpression in coins in particular... And now, in one of the numismatic studiescarried out recently, it seems that we have obtained the answer to the questionof Herod' s silver coinage from an unexpected source:the "Tyrian shekels" or "Tyrian Maneh." (A Treasuryof Jewish Coins, Ya'akov Meshorer, p71, 2001 AD)d. The "KAP" monogram (Kratos Romaion: power of the Romans) that appears on all shekels after 18 BC isthe official mark of Herod's coin minted in Jerusalem. e. "The minting place ofthe Tyre sheqels has been a subject of discussion since Meshorer'srevolutionary concept, published in 1982, that Herod the Great and theauthorities at the Jerusalem Temple feared a cessation of minting in Tyre, andtransferred this issue to a mint in Jerusalem in around 19/18 BCE. At thistime, Meshorer observed, the letters KAP, shortened to KP after the first fewyears, appeared on virtually all of the Tyre sheqels, where variousinitials or monograms had appeared on earlier coins. He suggested the lettersKP abbreviated Kratos Romaion (power of the Romans). One of Meshorer'sprincipal arguments was based on the decline in style of Tyre sheqels ofthe later type. He believed this degradation was due to the lack of skill ofJewish mintmasters, not to mention their disinterest in the pagan designs thatthey treated with disdain. He referred to them as barbaric and clunky, andsuggested their smaller, thicker shape hinted they were direct predecessors tothe thick sheqels struck by the Jews during the Jewish War." (Guide to Biblical coins, David Hendin, p479, 2010 AD)
