Greek Coins The Coinage of Judah Under Ptolemy II. Hemiobol 285-246, AR 0.46 g. Jugate head of Ptolemy I and Berenice I r. Rev. Jugate busts of Ptolemy II and Arsinoe II r.; in r. field, yhd . TJC 35. Hendin 1083. Shoshana –. Of the highest rarity, apparently only the second and finest specimen known. An issue of tremendous interest and fascination. Dark tone and extremely fine Among the earliest and most fascinating of all Jewish coins are the fractional silver Yehud pieces, which bear a variety of designs. Usually inscribed YWD or YHWD, meaning Yehud or Yehudah, they recall the name of the satrapy of Judah during the era of Persian domination, and its capital of Jerusalem, which in some documents is called the ”city of Judah”.Yehud coins are thought to have been introduced in the 4th Century B.C., during the period of Persian rule, and to have continued under Macedonian domination after the arrival of Alexander III. These were followed up with a distinctive series, similarly inscribed, of the early-to-mid 3rd Century, when the region was under Ptolemaic rule. Meshorer points out that relations between Jews and the Lagid kings of Egypt were comparatively poor during the reign of Ptolemy I, but that they improved markedly under his son and successor, Ptolemy II.Thus, it is no surprise that Meshorer supports the idea that the Yehud fractional silver coins were produced under Ptolemy II rather than Ptolemy I, as had been proposed by Mildenberg. Fortunately, there is now ample evidence to show that Yehud silver fractions with Ptolemaic-inspired designs were issued principally – if not exclusively – under Ptolemy II.The most common of the Yehud issues of this era mimics the standard Ptolemaic portrait tetradrachm introduced by Ptolemy I, which was perpetuated on an equally grand scale by his son. A significantly rarer type pairs a portrait of Ptolemy I with that of a Ptolemaic queen, presumably Berenice I. Since coins bearing her portrait were not struck by Ptolemy I, we may rule out so early a date for at least that segment of the Yehud coinage.Perhaps even more important to the Ptolemy II theory is the exceedingly rare type offered here. Its distinctive design can have been derived only from the gold octodrachms and tetradrachms of Ptolemy II, on which he portrays himself and his wife Arsinoe II, as well as his deceased father and mother, Ptolemy I and Berenice I.