BOHEMIA. Joachimsthal (Jáchymov), after 1550. Cast Medal (Silver, 37 mm, 16.48 g, 12 h), on Moses and the First Commandment (Exodus 20:3). ✱DER•HER•IST•MEIN•STERCK•VN•LOBSANG•VNT IST• MEI•HEIL / MO-ISE Horned bust of Moses to left wearing robe depicting משה ('Moses' in Hebrew). Rev. •DV•SOLT - KE-IN•ANDER•- GOTTER•N-EBEN•MIR H around tablet containing לא יהיה לך אלהים אחרים על פני (Exodus 20:3: 'You shall have no other gods before Me' in Hebrew) in four lines with *EXODVS*Zo* below. Donebauer 4411. Katz 145. Ira Rezak: The Matter of Faith: Numismatic Extrapolation of Biblical Traditions (Médailles 2012), p. 55, no. 13 (this piece). Beautifully toned. Minor casting faults on the reverse, otherwise, about extremely fine.



Moses is depicted with horns on this beautiful medal because of a famous translation issue in Exodus 34:29-35. The Hebrew verb qāran ('to emit rays' or 'shine') was rendered by St. Jerome in the Vulgate as cornuta ('horned' in Latin), leading medieval and Renaissance artists to portray Moses with literal horns rather than a radiant face.

Although modern scholarship recognizes this as a misunderstanding of the Hebrew text, the horned Moses remained a well-established iconographic tradition for centuries (see Lot 480 and 489 below).