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Head of an angel (?), sandstone, France, ca. 1300
Head of an angel (?), sandstone, France, ca. 1300 3600,00 zł
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Epitaph portrait of Jan Czapski (1699-1742), oil on copper, Poland, 1740s.
Epitaph portrait of Jan Czapski (1699-1742), oil on copper, Poland, 1740s. 20000,00 zł

Shekel (Judas silver), Tyre, 139 local era = 13/14 after Chr.

5200,00 zł

Av. Melkart’s head in laurel wreath to the right.

Rv. TYPOY [IEPAΣ] KAI AΣYΛOY, eagle standing left on prow of galley, palm branch on right wing, in left field letters PΛΘ (date) over mace, in right KP over monogram, Phoenician letter “Bet” between eagle’s paws.

Silver, 13.6 g, 25.4 mm. Literature: DCA 920; HGC 10, 357.

Condition III+, rare and nicely preserved coin minted during Jesus’ lifetime.

1 in stock

SKU: 301729 Categories: ,
Description

Few people realize that the silvers, 30 of which Judas Iscariot received for surrendering Christ, are not symbols or rhetorical figures, but actual coins. These coins were shekels minted in Tyre from about 126/125 B.C. Shekels minted and circulating in Judea during Jesus' lifetime - like the coin on offer - are especially prized.

The amount the chief priests offered Judas for betraying Jesus was 30 pieces of silver, equal to the price of a slave. After Jesus was captured, Judas wanted to return the silver, but the chief priests refused to accept it. Judas threw the silvers in their direction and left. With the silver left by Judas, a potter's field (Haceldama, Hakeldama or Hakeldamach from Aram. Field of Blood) was purchased where foreign pilgrims were buried. Hakeldama is located on a hillside that slopes steeply toward the Valley of Gehenna, south of the Old City, near the present-day Greek monastery of St. Onufry.

Within the Roman Empire, it was forbidden to mint coins with a representation of any person other than the emperor. Besides, biblical tradition (the Decalogue) forbids the creation of images of God and images of living beings, which for centuries restricted figural art in Judaism. That's why the obverse of the shekel bore the likeness of the Phoenician god Melkart (at the time identified with Heracles). The reverse, on the other hand, featured an eagle and the inscription: "Tyre the holy city and the city of asylum." The Romans accepted the production of shekels, which were intended primarily for the payment of rabbinical tribute in Judea. The evangelist Matthew cites an episode concerning the payment of the temple tax. Every adult free Jew in the ancient world was obligated to pay a tax of half a shekel (a two-drachma, or double drachma) per year as an expression of solidarity with the Temple and the Holy Land (cf. Exodus 30:13-16). This tax could not be paid with Roman denarii or other coins, but only with shekels.

The decline of Tyrian shekel production coincided with the outbreak of the First Jewish War (65/66 B.C.) and was one of the manifestations of Roman repression against the rebellious People of Israel. The destruction of the Jerusalem Temple (Second Temple) by the Romans in 70 was a key moment in Jewish history, ending the Jewish uprising. The event, associated with a fire during the siege, marked the end of sacrificial worship and a centralized religious organization that required funding through taxes. As a result of the dispersion of Jews (diaspora), rabbinic Judaism developed.

Additional information
Weight 0,0136 kg
Dimensions 2,54 cm
Type

Coin
Form

Shekel
Materiał

Silver
Technika

Knockout
Czas powstania

13/14 after Chr.
Era

Antiquity
State of preservation

III+

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