The Maltiel-Gerstenfeld Menorah Bronze

Sale: CNG 78, Lot: 931. Estimate $5000.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 14 May 2008.  Sold For $22000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

JUDAEA, Hasmoneans. Mattathias Antigonos. 40-37 BCE. Æ Lepton (1.28 g, 12h). Showbread table / Menorah. Meshorer 41; Maltiel-Gerstenfeld 58 (this coin); Hendin 485. Near VF, dark brown patina, light roughness. Very rare, less than 20 known.

From the Macleay Collection. Ex Maltiel-Gerstenfeld Collection, 58.

This is the first and only representation showing the two most prestigious cult vessels of the Temple on an ancient Jewish coin, the Menorah (candelabrum) on one side and the Showbread Table on the other, being the original ones as seen prior to the Temple destruction in 70 A.D. It is, indeed, the earliest datable object picturing these articles in Jewish art. This coin is unique in all of ancient Jewish coinage, in that it shows articles used in Temple worship. It was produced differently from the bulk of the coins of Antigonus, and also the weight standard appears to be much lighter. The golden table (Showbread Table) was placed near the Menorah and with the Menorah, a companion article in services. It is quite likely that the Showbread Table does not receive the veneration that the Menorah does in modern times, because of the importance of bread and the Lord's Table in Christian services. The rule of Mattathias as High Priest commenced in 40 B.C. and by 37 B.C. Herod I, threatened to end five generations of Hasmonean rule. The Jewish population was afraid of the turn of events and Antigonus issued this unique coin type, during the siege of Jerusalem. The depiction of these objects is forbidden in the Babylonian Talmud; "A man may not make a house after the design of the Temple, a courtyard after the design of the Temple, a table after the design of the table (in the Temple), or a candelabrum after the design of the candelabrum (in the Temple)." Interestingly, this paragraph singles out the Menorah and the Showbread Table from all the objects in the Temple and forbids their reproduction. It is also interesting that they are mentioned in a single category. Meshorer observes that it was not until the third century A.D. that the Menorah became the most important Jewish symbol. "Thus the depiction of the image on this coin minted as early as the reign of Antigonus is a remarkable and daring phenomenon, which must be seen in the context of the contemporary historical circumstances. Antigonus may have depicted these objects on his coins both to encourage his supporters and to remind the people of their duty to preserve the sanctity of the Temple (and its High Priest) from the foreigners." This specimen, the most sought after of Jewish coins rarely appears on the market. Curiously it is the most expensive object in copper for any known artifact, by weight. The most recent sale examples are the Bromberg specimen (Superior, Dec. 5, 1991, lot 19, which appears to be from the same dies as this specimen and realised US$27,500), and the Abramowitz Family Collection specimen (Superior Dec. 8, 1993, lot 12. which realised $31,900). While this example is off centre and shows almost no representation of the Menorah it has as fine a Showbread Table as any on all the known specimens.