Rare Judean Coin Sells for $1.1 Million at NYC Auction
A private collector has bought an ancient Judean coin for $1.1 million, the highest for any such coin, at a New York City auction.
The coin an East Coast collector bought at Heritage Auctions is a Year 1 prototype silver shekel from A.D. 66, according to The Associated Press. It is one of the only two known Year 1 prototype silver shekels, one of which is part of the collection of the Israel Museum.
The reverse side of the coin sold Thursday for the highest price for any Judean coin paid at an auction, according to Heritage. It was bought at a 1991 auction for more than $240,000 by a Los Angeles-area collector and is part of his Shoshana Collection, which carries about 2,200 ancient Judean coins.
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When the Jewish Revolt broke out against Roman rule in A.D. 66, the revolutionaries promptly captured the holy city of Jerusalem to gain access to the great Temple, which had vast treasury. From the silver they found, they struck the most famous of all Jewish coins – in shekel and half shekel denominations.
These coins are the first truly Jewish silver coins, according to the online Jewish Virtual Library. They feature a chalice on one side with the year of the revolt above, surrounded by the ancient Hebrew inscription "Shekel of Israel." Three budding pomegranates are featured on the reverse, with the inscription "Jerusalem the Holy."
