Which Side is Up? The Jerusalem Mint and its Bevelled Coins

Abstract

More than 3,000 coins from the Jerusalem mint struck on bevelled flans were examined to
determine on which iconographical side the bevelling appears. The results suggest that throughout
its operation the mint remained dimly aware of the Hellenistic practice of placing the bevelled
sides of the flans on what were apparently obverse dies. Against the backdrop of diachronic
change in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid minting practices, this allows for better estimations for
determining the obverses and reverses of Jerusalem’s coin types.