The New York Sale 2026 Ancient & World

An Important Offering of Judaean and Related Coins, including selections from the J. Horowitz Collection Denotes from the collection of J. Horowitz

Very Choice Lily – Falcon type Half Gerah.

1085 Achaemenid Province. Anonymous. Yehud Coinage Silver Half Gerah (0.37 g; 8mm), ca. 375-332 BC. Lily. Reverse: Falcon, wings spread, head right, yhd in Phoenician above right wing. Meshorer 15; Hendin 6059; HGC 10, 442; Shoshana 20074; Spaer 12. Sharp detail. Near Extremely Fine. Historically and symbolically important, this type Half Gerah is one of the earliest Jewish coins and ultimately served as the model for the modern Israeli shekel. The lily depicted on the obverse is the ancient symbol of purity and rebirth and of the city of Jerusalem. In Hebrew, lily is shoshan, which forms the basis for the Hebrew word for six, hence linking the six-petalled lily to the six-pointed Star of David. It would next appear on the Hasmonean coins of John Hyrkanos I and Alexander Jannaios.

$3,000

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