ANTIGONUS, B.C. 4o-37.
Obv. BAMIAE112 ANTIPONOT, round a wreath.
Rev. inm yin rrnnn, Mattathias the high-priest, and the confederation of the Jews.' Two cornua-copim. YE 5.
This legend is made up from the specimens en graved in De Saulcy (pl. v. r-S), by M. de Vogiie ,(Rev. Num., 1860, p. 284, note). Both De Saulcy and Levy are inclined to regard Mattathias as the Hebrew name of Antigonus, rather than as a name of the ancestor of the Asmonman family ; and it seems more probable that the Jews should have known their chiefs by Jewish names. This supports the supposition that Jonathan was the Hebrew name of Alexander. On a coin in the collection of the Rev. H. C. Reichardt, the obverse legend reads very legibly Tr nmri ronnn, whilst between the cornua-copim, instead of the letters Mil, there are i.e., J' Another specimen has also very plainly 1L2, i.e., 'year 2,' The coins of Antigonus, both in size and style, differ from those of his predecessors ; and Cave doni (Bibl. Num., vol. ii. p. 25) sees a resem
blance to those of the Parthian and Bactrian kings; which is likely, as Antigonus obtained his throne by the aid of the Parthians (Joseph. Antiq. xiv. 13). Some specimens of the coins of Antigonus have only a single cornu-copim, perhaps to denote the half of its value. This seems to be confirmed by the weight. The coins with the double cornu copim weigh, according to De Saulcy (Num. "ud., p. III), 14.2 grammes (209 grains) and under , those with the single cornu-copim, 7.7 grammes (HS grains) to 7 grammes (toS grains). Levy Illiinzen, p. 66, note 4) thinks that the coin weighing to.7 grammes (165 grains) may be a three-quarter piece.
A curious coin in the collection cf the Rev. Churchill Babingtbn has a Greek legend on the same side as the cornu-copire. It is the smallest coin of Antigonus yet discovered (Num. Clown., N. S., vol. ii. p.