Legionary Token Coinage
261, Lot: 234. Estimate $100.
Sold for $140. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee. |
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JUDAEA, Caesarea Maritima. 1st-3rd centuries AD. Æ ‘Minim’ (13mm, 1.13 g, 3h). Amphora / Palm tree. Meshorer 374. Fine, dark earthen green patina.
A recurring phenomenon around Caesarea is the appearance of reduced module imitiations of circulating coinage. The pieces most often published are so-called “minims” which copy the bronze prutahs of the Herodian kings, the procurators, and the First Jewish War. As quantities of these coins have been found in outlying regions, especially around the sites of the legionary encampments, rather than in the city proper, they probably served as a token currency in the camps and their associated settlements. For further discussion, see H. Hamburger, “Minute Coins from Caesarea,” Atiqot I (1956).
