Auction 86 - Part I - Rare & Important Items
Silver Pseudo-Coin – "The Holy City of Jerusalem / King David and His Son King Solomon" – Europe, 16th Century
Opening: $1,000
Estimate: $2,000 - $4,000
Unsold
Silver pseudo-coin (medal imitating an ancient Hebrew coin), "The Holy City of Jerusalem / King David and His Son King Solomon." [Europe (Hamburg?), 16th century?].
Silver. Diameter: 23 mm.
One side of the "coin" features an old city wall with three turrets and a gate, along with an inscription in square Hebrew script: "Jerusalem / the Holy City"; the other side bears the (Hebrew) inscription: "King David / and His Son / King Solomon." The design of this medal follows the Talmudic teaching: "What is the coin of ancient Jerusalem? The names David and Solomon on one side, and Jerusalem the Holy City on the other side" (BT Baba Kama 97b).
Similar coins – differing in how the lines break in the inscription "King David and His Son King Solomon" – were documented in an article by Mordechai Narkiss (in Hebrew) titled "Imaginary Hebrew Coins" published in the journal "Mizrah U-Ma'arav" (Vol. II, Issue no. 2, 1928). In this article, Narkiss points out that "as early as the 13th century, among Spanish [Sephardi] Jews, the [image of the] triple-turreted tower was accepted as a customary symbol representing Jerusalem. The seal of Todros Ha-Levi from the 14th century and the seal of the Jewish community of Seville from the 13th century are evidence of this." The triple-turreted tower is also reminiscent of the emblem of the City of Hamburg, and this particular coin may have in fact been minted there, since Hamburg was one of the main places where Jewish pseudo-coins were produced.
An engraving depicting a similar coin appears in a book authored by the Protestant theologian Kaspar Waser (1565-1625) titled "Antiquis Numis Hebraeorum, Chaldaeorum et Syrorum" ["Ancient Hebrew, Chaldean, and Syrian Coins"] published in 1605 (p. 72).
An identical pseudo-coin can be found in the Israel Museum Collection (Item No. 71.00432).
Pseudo-coins designed based on ancient Jewish sources, the Talmud, and Midrashic texts, began to appear in Europe in the 15th century. In addition to the present coin, for instance, we know of a pseudo-coin bearing the image of the Patriarch Abraham, based on a passage from the same page of the Babylonian Talmud (Baba Kama 97b) as the present coin: "What is the coin of our forefather Abraham? An elderly man and elderly woman on one side, and a young man and a young woman on the other side." We also know of such coins dedicated to Joshua bin Nun, Esther and Mordechai, and other ancient and/or biblical Jewish heroes. See: Ya'akov Meshorer, "The Third Side of the Coin, " Hebrew, pp. 103-108 (the present coin is featured on p. 104).
The most common of the Jewish pseudo-coins are the so-called "false shekels". These shekel-denominated pseudo-coins began to appear in the course of the 15th century in the town of Görlitz (today in the eastern German state of Saxony). The idea of producing these coins – known as "Görlitz Shekels" – is attributed to Görlitz's mayor, Georg Emmerich, who visited the Holy Land as a pilgrim in 1465, and, upon returning to Prussia, had a replica of the tomb of Jesus, the Holy Sepulchre, built in his town. Pseudo-shekels were offered as souvenirs to the pilgrims coming to visit the replica of Holy Sepulchre, and at first were presented as replicas of one of the thirty shekel coins given to Judas Iscariot by the chief priests as payment for his betrayal of Jesus. From then on, such coins were minted – with minor alterations – first throughout the lands of the Holy Roman Empire and subsequently in additional countries, becoming equally popular among Christians and Jews.
The minters of pseudo-shekel coins in Görlitz and other places had never actually seen a real Jewish shekel coin from the time of the Great Revolt (66-70 CE), and were forced to rely on descriptions from ancient Jewish sources, as well as their own imaginations. Thus, while true ancient Jewish coins bear inscriptions in Paleo-Hebrew script, the pseudo-coins have inscriptions in modern square-script Hebrew letters, and, in general, in form and content, they are quite unlike the genuine ancient Jewish shekel coins they are modeled after. Over the years, these pseudo-coins were put to a variety of uses; among the Jews of Europe, they served to recall the mitzvah of the half-shekel coin; they were used as a form of "tzedakah" (charity) and as a means of fulfilling the mitzvah of alms for the poor on the Purim holiday; and they served as a type of amulet. They were also probably used in lieu of the five "sela'im" of silver delivered to the Kohen (priest) at traditional "Pidyon HaBen" (Redemption of the Firstborn) ceremonies.
For additional reading:
1. Ira Rezak, "The Matter of Faith: Numismatic Extrapolation of Biblical Traditions, " "Médaille, " FIDEM, Lisbon, 2013, pp. 51-58.
2. Ira Rezak, "Genuine Imitations: Jewish Use of Pseudo-Coins, " "The Israel Numismatic Journal, " 15, 2006, pp. 152-69.
Silver. Diameter: 23 mm.
One side of the "coin" features an old city wall with three turrets and a gate, along with an inscription in square Hebrew script: "Jerusalem / the Holy City"; the other side bears the (Hebrew) inscription: "King David / and His Son / King Solomon." The design of this medal follows the Talmudic teaching: "What is the coin of ancient Jerusalem? The names David and Solomon on one side, and Jerusalem the Holy City on the other side" (BT Baba Kama 97b).
Similar coins – differing in how the lines break in the inscription "King David and His Son King Solomon" – were documented in an article by Mordechai Narkiss (in Hebrew) titled "Imaginary Hebrew Coins" published in the journal "Mizrah U-Ma'arav" (Vol. II, Issue no. 2, 1928). In this article, Narkiss points out that "as early as the 13th century, among Spanish [Sephardi] Jews, the [image of the] triple-turreted tower was accepted as a customary symbol representing Jerusalem. The seal of Todros Ha-Levi from the 14th century and the seal of the Jewish community of Seville from the 13th century are evidence of this." The triple-turreted tower is also reminiscent of the emblem of the City of Hamburg, and this particular coin may have in fact been minted there, since Hamburg was one of the main places where Jewish pseudo-coins were produced.
An engraving depicting a similar coin appears in a book authored by the Protestant theologian Kaspar Waser (1565-1625) titled "Antiquis Numis Hebraeorum, Chaldaeorum et Syrorum" ["Ancient Hebrew, Chaldean, and Syrian Coins"] published in 1605 (p. 72).
An identical pseudo-coin can be found in the Israel Museum Collection (Item No. 71.00432).
Pseudo-coins designed based on ancient Jewish sources, the Talmud, and Midrashic texts, began to appear in Europe in the 15th century. In addition to the present coin, for instance, we know of a pseudo-coin bearing the image of the Patriarch Abraham, based on a passage from the same page of the Babylonian Talmud (Baba Kama 97b) as the present coin: "What is the coin of our forefather Abraham? An elderly man and elderly woman on one side, and a young man and a young woman on the other side." We also know of such coins dedicated to Joshua bin Nun, Esther and Mordechai, and other ancient and/or biblical Jewish heroes. See: Ya'akov Meshorer, "The Third Side of the Coin, " Hebrew, pp. 103-108 (the present coin is featured on p. 104).
The most common of the Jewish pseudo-coins are the so-called "false shekels". These shekel-denominated pseudo-coins began to appear in the course of the 15th century in the town of Görlitz (today in the eastern German state of Saxony). The idea of producing these coins – known as "Görlitz Shekels" – is attributed to Görlitz's mayor, Georg Emmerich, who visited the Holy Land as a pilgrim in 1465, and, upon returning to Prussia, had a replica of the tomb of Jesus, the Holy Sepulchre, built in his town. Pseudo-shekels were offered as souvenirs to the pilgrims coming to visit the replica of Holy Sepulchre, and at first were presented as replicas of one of the thirty shekel coins given to Judas Iscariot by the chief priests as payment for his betrayal of Jesus. From then on, such coins were minted – with minor alterations – first throughout the lands of the Holy Roman Empire and subsequently in additional countries, becoming equally popular among Christians and Jews.
The minters of pseudo-shekel coins in Görlitz and other places had never actually seen a real Jewish shekel coin from the time of the Great Revolt (66-70 CE), and were forced to rely on descriptions from ancient Jewish sources, as well as their own imaginations. Thus, while true ancient Jewish coins bear inscriptions in Paleo-Hebrew script, the pseudo-coins have inscriptions in modern square-script Hebrew letters, and, in general, in form and content, they are quite unlike the genuine ancient Jewish shekel coins they are modeled after. Over the years, these pseudo-coins were put to a variety of uses; among the Jews of Europe, they served to recall the mitzvah of the half-shekel coin; they were used as a form of "tzedakah" (charity) and as a means of fulfilling the mitzvah of alms for the poor on the Purim holiday; and they served as a type of amulet. They were also probably used in lieu of the five "sela'im" of silver delivered to the Kohen (priest) at traditional "Pidyon HaBen" (Redemption of the Firstborn) ceremonies.
For additional reading:
1. Ira Rezak, "The Matter of Faith: Numismatic Extrapolation of Biblical Traditions, " "Médaille, " FIDEM, Lisbon, 2013, pp. 51-58.
2. Ira Rezak, "Genuine Imitations: Jewish Use of Pseudo-Coins, " "The Israel Numismatic Journal, " 15, 2006, pp. 152-69.
Jewish Ceremonial Art, Carpets
Jewish Ceremonial Art, Carpets