We knew the Israeli economy was in good shape, but this is ridiculous. Well, not if the shekel in question was minted just under 2000 years ago.
The ancient Jewish coin was sold for $1.1 million (a record) at the Heritage Auctions house in Manhattan. It’s a silver shekel from 66 AD, and was bought by Steve Rubinger, president of Antiqua Ancient Art & Numismatics in Woodland Hills, Calif., and he in turn purchased it on behalf of a private East Coast collector.
The silver shekel features an image of a ritual chalice and three pomegranates, with “A shekel of Israel made in Year 1” printed on one side and “Jerusalem the holy” on the reverse. It is one of only two specimens known, Heritage Auctions said. It was sold Thursday night as part of an auction of coins from the Shoshana Collection, which spans more than 11 centuries.
The Shoshana Collection, which holds more than 2,200 coins from a private collector, is expected to raise more than $10 million in auctions this year.