'Mr. Du Bos brought me three very rare medals with so-called Samaritan characters. On one of them there appears the legible inscription ΒΑCΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΝΤΙΓΟΝ, who could only be the last king of the Jews of the Hasmonean dynasty. The only reason that I can give for Samaritan characters still being used in such a late period is that it is an archaism, similar to our coins that bear Latin legends. I will have them accurately engraved. He also brought me two other small [medals] struck in the time of Simon Maccabeus of which I have clearer [specimens]. These were together with another [medal] of ΗΡΩΔΟΝ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ on which Mr. Du Bos read LΓΙ which would indicate "year 13". This would greatly upset the chronology of the Herodians. I made him see, however, that the "I" is the monogram of Tyre slightly effaced, and I showed him a similar medal on which it is very clear, so that this [date] comes to "year 3" on this medal which is of Agrippa the Great.' (English translation from Minc 1985, pp. 113)