PERSIA AR SIGLOS ACHAEMENID KINGS, XERXES I - DARIOS II, 485 - 420 B.C.E.
Carradice Type IIIb A/B, Fine, Obverse countermark, reverse test punch, 15.5mm, 5.46 grams
Obverse: Persian king or in kneeling-running stance right, holding spear and bow, countermark
Reverse: Incuse punch
Very interesting obverse countermark, we cannot recall seeing before. Resembles a four leaf clover.
Biblical Coin which circulated around the time of King Ahaseurus and Queen Esther of the Purim story in the Biblical Book of Esther.
This denomination is 1/3 of a Persian Shekel. This amount is probably what Nehemia was referring to when he asked the Judaean populace for a 1/3 shekel donation for the rebuilding of the Temple precincts, i.e. 1/3 of a Persian shekel was exactly the same weight as 1/2 of a Judaean shekel, the half shekel Temple tax (Machazit HaShekel) at the time.
