Ascalon

Titus Judaea, Ascalon (North of Gaza, Canaan) 81 - 96 A.D. Æ 24 (11.79g) Obv.: Laur. bust r. of emp. .C.A. ...TOS Rev.: goddess l., aphlaston, Incense burner, dove ASKALW DPR Ref: Lindgren 2455, BMC 117 (Author's collection)

Caesarea Maritima

JUDAEA, Caesaraea Maritima. Trajan Decius 249-251 AD. AE 30 mm Sacred plants upon horned altar. Kadman (Author's collection)

JUDAEA, Caesaraea Maritima. Herennius Etruscus. As Caesar, AD 249-251. Æ 27mm 23.78g. Obv: Radiate and draped bust right, seen from behind Rev: Two eagles, each holding wreath in beak, flanking vexillum. Kadman, Caesarea, 185; Rosenberger 152; SNG ANS 843 (formerly Author's collection)

Lydda-Lod (Diospolis)

The Hebrew name Lod appears in the bible as a town of Benjamin, founded by Shamed or Shamer (1 Chronicles 8:12; Ezra 2:33; Nehemiah 7:37; 11:35). In the New Testament it appears as its Greek form, Lydda. The city also finds reference in an Islamic Hadith, as the location of the battlefield where Dajjal (the anti-Christ) will be slayed before the Day of Judgment. Pottery finds have dated the city's initial settlement to 5600–5250 BC. The earliest written record is in a list of Cannanite towns drawn up by the Egyptian Pharaoh Thutmose III at Karnak in 1465 B.C.

JUDAEA, Diospolis (Lydda-Lod). Caracalla. AD 198-217. Æ 25mm, 11.07 g, 12h. Dated CY 10 (208-9 CE). Obverse: Head of emperor; Reverse: City goddess (Tyche). Farhi 11a; Meshorer City-Coin 153; Rosenberger 10; Sofaer 10; Cf. Goldberg 98, lot 1724 ex Abramowitz collection (Author's collection)

Neopolis

SAMARIA, Neapolis Marcus Aurelius 161 – 180 A.D. Æ 25 Obv.: Bare hd. r. of emp. ΑΥΡΛΙΟCΚΑΙCΑΡ ΕΥ CΕΒCΕΒΥΙΟC Rev.: Zeus Heliopolites w/whip & corn, bulls below ΦΛΝΕΑCΠΟΛΕωCΥΡΙΑCΠΑ ΕΤ ΠΗ = 159/60 A.D. Ref: Rosenberger 15; ANS 969 (formerly Author's collection)

Rabbathmoba (Arabia Petraea)

Arabia Petraea, Rabbathmoba. Geta 209-212 AD. Æ 27mm, 13.92g Dated CY 109 (AD 210/1). Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / Statue of Ares standing facing, holding sword, spear, and shield; lighted altars flanking base. Spijkerman 32; Rosenberger 20; SNG ANS 1418 (Author's collection)

Sebaste (Samaria)

JUDAEA, Sebaste. Elagabalus. AD 218-222. Æ 25mm Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / Hades in quadriga right, abducting Persephone; Eros flying above, overturned cista mystica below horses. Rosenberger 27; Meshorer 120 (Author's collection)

Sepphoris

Galilee, Sepphoris-Diocaesarea. Trajan. 98-117 AD. Æ 25mm TRAIANOS AUTO KRATWR EDWKEN, laureate head right / SEPFW/RHNWN in wreath. SNG ANS 1086; BMC Palestine pg.1, 1; Hendin 906; Rosenberger III, 3 (formerly Author's collection)

Sidon

PHOENICIA, Sidon. Julia Maesa. Augusta, AD 218-224/5. Æ 31mm Draped bust right / Car of Astarte: cult xoanon, flanked on either side by small figure, within ornate tetrastyle canopy, set on two-wheeled base; four palms emerging from roof of structure. AUB 283; SNG Copenhagen 264 (formerly Author's collection)

Tiberias

JUDAEA, Tiberias. Trajan. AD 98-117. Æ 25.5 mm, 9.19 g, 11 h. Dated CY 81 (AD 99/100). Laureate head right / Hygeia seated right on rock, holding serpent feeding from patera; ЄT-AΠ (date) across field. Rosenberger 6; SNG ANS 1101 (formerly Author's collection)

JUDAEA, Tiberias. Hadrian. 117-138 AD. AE 23mm (10.01 gm, 12h). Dated CY 101 (119-20 AD) Obv: Laureate bust of emperor right; AYT TRA AΔPIANOC KAIC CЄB Rev: Tetrastyle temple with Zeus within, TIBЄP KΛAYΔ, ET AP (date) in exergue. Rosenberger 12; BMC 23 (Author's collection)

Tyre

PHOENICIA, Tyre Gordian III 238-244 A.D. Æ 29mm, 16.14g, 12h Obv: IMP GORDIANVS PIVS FEL AVG, laureate and cuirassed bust right, wearing paludamentum Rev: [COL TV]R METR, olive tree between two baetyls (the Ambrosial Rocks); AM[BPOCIE] in exergue. Ref: BMC 430. (Author's collection)

Unknown Mint

Unknown mint. Autonomous Issue Arabia Petraea? 1st - 2nd cent. A.D. Æ 15mm Obv.: Tyche city-goddess hd. r. Rev.: Palm tree (Author's collection)

Gerasa

SYRIA, Decapolis. Gerasa. Hadrian. AD 117-138. Æ (25mm, 14.51 g, 7h). Bust of Artemis. Spijkerman 4; Rosenberger 5; Sofaer 5; SNG ANS 1343 (Author's collection)

Joppa

The town was mentioned in Egyptian sources and the Amarna letters as Yapu. Mythology says that it is named for Yafet (Japheth), one of the sons of Noah, the one who built it after the Flood. The Hellenist tradition links the name to Iopeia, or Cassiopeia, mother of Andromeda. An outcropping of rocks near the harbor is reputed to have been the place where Andromeda was rescued by Perseus. Pliny the Elder associated the name with Iopa, daughter of Aeolus, god of the wind. The medieval Arab geographer al-Muqaddasi referred to it as Yaffa.

Jaffa is mentioned four times in the Hebrew Bible, as a city opposite the territory given to the Hebrew Tribe of Dan (Joshua 19:46), as port-of-entry for the cedars of Lebanon for Solomon's Temple (2 Chronicles 2:16), as the place whence the prophet Jonah embarked for Tarshish (Jonah 1:3) and again as port-of-entry for the cedars of Lebanon for the Second Temple of Jerusalem (Ezra 3:7).

In 701 BC, in the days of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, invaded the region from Jaffa. After a period of Babylonian occupation, under Persian rule, Jaffa was governed by Phoenicians from Tyre.

In Greek mythology, Joppa is the home of Andromeda, the daughter of the Ethiopian king Cepheus and his wife Cassiopeia. When Cassiopeia boasts that she is more beautiful than the Nereids, Poseidon sends the sea monster Cetus to ravage the coast of Ethiopia as divine punishment. Andromeda is chained to a rock as a sacrifice to sate the monster, but is saved from death by Perseus, who marries her and takes her to Greece to reign as his queen.

PHOENICIA, Joppa. Julia Domna 193-217 A.D. Obv: Julia Domna; Perseus carrying head of Medusa and harpa; IO- Π- Π- HC. see Barkay 2000–02, pp. 177–178, no. 7 (Bank of Israel no. 1–755); Meshorer and Bijovsky, p. 47, Joppe no. 16, pl. 44; Farhi 2003–06, p. 145 n. 31; Ecker 8. otherwise unpublished (formerly Author's collection)

Joppa, Judaea. Diadumenian as Caesar (AD 218). Æ 25mm (10.75 gm, 6h). Bare-headed and draped bust right / IO-Π-Π-HC, Tyche standing left, holding globe (or bust?) and scepter, within tetrastyle temple. Rosenberger -. SNG Copenhagen -. BMC -. Extremely rare and apparently unrecorded! Dark green patina with red earthen fields. ex. Dr. Patrick Tan Collection (formerly Author's collection)

JUDAEA, Joppa. Elagabalus. AD 218-222. Æ 22mm 10.2g. Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / Tyche standing left, holding globe (or bust?) and scepter, within tetrastyle temple; two small statues between columns. Rosenberger 7; SNG ANS -; SNG Copenhagen -; BMC -. (formerly Author's collection)

JUDAEA, Joppa. Severus Alexander. 222-235 A.D. Æ 19mm 6.8g, 12h Draped bust of Severus Alexander r., laureate/ AYT KA[...] / Athena standing r., resting her l. on long spear and her r. on shield; ΦΛ ΙΟΠΠΗC (Flavia Joppa). Ros. 9. BMC Palestine 1 (as Elagabalus). Sofaer pl. 44, 20 Rosenberger 11 (Author's collection)

JUDAEA, Joppa. Severus Alexander. 222-235 A.D. Æ 18mm Draped bust of Severus Alexander r., laureate/ AYT KA[...] / Athena standing r., resting her l. on long spear and her r. on shield; ΦΛ ΙΟΠΠΗC (Flavia Joppa). Ros. 9. BMC Palestine 1 (as Elagabalus). Sofaer pl. 44, 20 Rosenberger 11 (Author's collection)

Ace-Ptolemais (Acco/Akko)

PHOENICIA, Ace-Ptolemais Salonina (wife of Gallienus) 253-268 A.D. 28mm Obv: Bare hd. of emp. r. within laurel wreath Rev: Aphrodite within arched temple or shrine, dolphin and caduceus below Ref: Kadman, Akko 265 (formerly Author's collection)

PHOENICIA, Ace-Ptolemais. Valerian I. AD 253-260. Æ 26mm Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / Sacred olive tree; to left and [right], serpent arising from basket or altar; winged caduceus to right. Rouvier 1063 (Author's collection)

Caesarea Panias

JUDAEA, Roman Administration. Diva Poppaea and Diva Claudia. Died 65 CE and 63 CE, respectively. Æ 18mm. Caesarea Panias mint. Struck 65-68 CE. Distyle temple set upon high podium, containing statue of Diva Poppaea seated left / Hexastyle temple set upon high podium, containing statue of Diva Claudia left on basis. Meshorer 354; Hendin 1270; Sofaer 87; RPC I 4846 ex. Sasson family (Jerusalem) since 1925 (Author's collection)

Claudia Leucas

SELEUCIS & PIERIA. Claudia Leucas. Domitian (81-96 AD). Ae. Dated RY 43 (89–96 AD). 21mm, 9.73g Quadriga. RPC 2036; SNG Copenhagen 345 (Author's collection)

Damascus

COELESYRIA, Damascus. Philip I. AD 244-249. Æ 30mm, 16.74g, 12h. Obv: Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind; IMP M IVL PHILIPPVS P F AVG, Rev: COL AMAC METRO; Ambrosia standing facing in flower, head right, holding grape vine in each hand. RPC VIII Online 26786; Rosenberger 49 corr. (Philip II). AJN 15 (2003), pp. 53-9 and K. Butcher, Ambrosia in Damascus?, NC 170 (2010), pp. 85-91 The figure on the reverse has traditionally been described as Dionysus holding vines, as in Rosenberger, but as the type clearly represents a female this identification can be discounted. For more recent interpretations of this very interesting type, see G. Bijowski, “The myth of Daphne on a coin minted at Damascus,” AJN 15 (2003), pp. 53-9 and K. Butcher, “Ambrosia in Damascus?,” NC 170 (2010), pp. 85-91. (Author's collection)

Dora

PHONECIA, Dora. Trajan. 98-117 AD. AE 24.8 mm, 11.11 g, 11 h. Struck A.D. 112/13. Obv: ΑΥΤΟΚ ΚΑΙС ΝЄΡ ΤΡΑΙΑΝ[ΟС СЄ]Β ΓЄΡΜ ΔΑΚ, laureate head of Trajan right, drapery on left shoulder, star beneath chin / Rev: ΔΩΡ ( = yr 174 = A.D. 112/13 ), draped, veiled and turreted bust of Tyche, right, date across field, below, ΡΟЄ; all within oak wreath. Ref: RPC III 3916; BMC Phoenicia pg. 117, 33; Y. Meshorer, "The Coins of Dora," INJ 9 (1986-7), pg. 70, 34 var. (same). Ex. Tom Buggey collection (formerly Author's collection)

Ephesus

IONIA, Ephesus. Claudius (41-54 AD). AR Cistophorus, 26mm, 10.88g Ephesus mint. Struck circa AD 41-42. Bare head left / DIAN EPHE across field, temple of Diana Ephesia: cult statue of Diana of Ephesus within tetrastyle temple, pediment decorated with figures flanking a central table with disk above, two tables and recumbent figures in angles. RIC I 118; RPC I 2222; RSC 30 (Author's collection)

IONIA. Ephesus. Hadrian, 117-138. Pentassarion (Bronze, 34 mm, 23.92 g, 6 h), circa 130-138. AΔPIANOC KAICAP OΛYMΠIOC Laureate and cuirassed bust of Hadrian to right, wearing aegis on left shoulder. Rev. EΦECIΩN Tetrastyle temple with Ionian capitals standing facing on two steps, enclosing cult statue of Diana of Ephesus with polos on head and fillets hanging from wrists; pediment decorated with two figures raising their right and left hand toward central disk; in angles, two recumbant figures. RPC III 2073

Author in Ephesus (Theater above and Kuretes street below...leading to Library Celsus, baths of Scholastica, the agora, and ultimately...an ancient Aegean port)

Gadara

SYRIA, Decapolis. Gadara. Marcus Aurelius 161-180 AD. Æ 29mm, 17.76g Dated CY 225 (AD 161/2). Obv: Laureate and draped . Rev: Bust of Herakles right, lion skin tied around neck; ЄKC (date) in legend. Ref: Rosenberger 46; Spijkerman 39 (Author's collection)

DECAPOLIS. Gadara. Commodus AD 177-192. Struck circa AD 177-180 Æ 28 mm, 14,05 g ΑΥΤ Κ Λ ΑΥΡ ΚΟΜΜΟΔΟΝ, laureate head of Commodus right / ΠΟ ΓΑΔ ΙE ΑϹ Α Γ Κ Ϲ ΓΜϹ (date in pediment), temple with four columns enclosing statue of Zeus seated, left, holding uncertain object (Nike or short filleted staff?) and long sceptre. Ref: Spijkerman 61; RPC Online 6684. ex. Tareq Hani collection (Author's collection)

DECAPOLIS, Gadara Elagabalus 218-222 A.D. ca. 217/8 Æ 30mm, 19.31g Obv: ΑΥ Κ Μ ΑΥΡ ΑΝΤΩΝΙΝΟΣ Draped armor bust with radiate bust r. Rev: ΠΟΜΠ / ΓΑΔΑΡΕΩΝ / Α Π Σ (= year 281); Galley with rowers, dolphin Ref: Spijkerman 85; Meshorer, 224; Rosenberger 79; SNG ANS 1330 (var.). ex. Shlomo Moussaieff Collection, London, 1948-2000. (Author's collection)

Gaza

JUDAEA, Gaza Faustina II Augusta 147-175 AD Æ 27mm 16.23g Dated CY 235 (AD 174/5) Obv: Drap. bust of empress r. Rev: Artemis, holding bow, and Marnas, holding thunderbolt, standing vis-à-vis; Marnas symbol between; all within distyle temple Ref: Rosenberger 110; SNG ANS 935 var. (dated CY 238). (Author's collection)

JUDAEA. Gaza. Hadrian (AD 117-138). AE (24mm, 11.72 gm, 12h). Dated Regnal Year 5 and Civic Year 194 (AD 133/4). Obv: AΥT KAI TPAI-ΑΔΡΙΑΝΟC, laureate, draped bust of Hadrian right, seen from behind / Rev: che standing facing wearing calathus, head left, grounded scepter in right hand, cornucopia in left; heifer standing left in background, 'mem' in right field, ΓΑΖΑ-E EΠI ΔЧP (dates) around. Unpublished for Year 5, cf. Ref: RPC 4020-4047 for similar type for Regnal Years 2-8 (Author's collection)

JUDAEA, Gaza Hadrian 117-138 A.D. 25mm, 11.91g, Dated 132-3 A.D. Obv: Laur. bust of emp. r. ……..ΑΔΡΙΑΝΟC Rev: Tyche stdg l. w/scepter & cornucopia; heifer at feet, Marnas symbol ΓΑΖΑ……. Ref: Rosenberger 63; SNG ANS 917; ex. Goldberg (Author's collection)

JUDAEA, Gaza. Hadrian. AD 117-138. Æ 22mm Dated CY 194 and Epidemia 5 (AD 133/4). Laureate head right / Herakles standing facing, leaning on club and holding lion’s skin; Marnas symbol to left, E EΠI ΔЧP (dates) around. Rosenberger 55 (formerly Author's collection)

JUDAEA, Gaza. Julia Domna. Augusta, AD 193-217. 21mm, 7.69g. Dated CY 263 AD 202-203. Io and Tyche (formerly Author's collection)