Image Details

Erich Lessing

A Lepton coin from the Hasmonean era depicts a Menorah and the inscription, “King Antigonos.” It was apparently a propaganda tool of Mattathias Antigonos, king of Judea (40–37 B.C.E.) in his conflict with the usurper Herod. The reverse of the coin (not shown) shows the Showbread table, with the Hebrew words “Mattatayah the High Priest.”