Silver Denarius (Zuz) of Shimon Bar Kochbar, 134 CE - 135 CE
Silver
BF.082
Obverse: Shimon in wreat Reverse: 'For the freedom of Jerusalem'/palm branch The leader of the Second Jewish Revolt (132-135 CE) against Rome was Shim’on Bar Koseba. He was known as...
Obverse: Shimon in wreat
Reverse: 'For the freedom of Jerusalem'/palm branch
The leader of the Second Jewish Revolt (132-135 CE) against Rome was Shim’on Bar Koseba. He was known as Bar Kochbar, meaning ‘Son of the Star’ in reference to messianic expectations of the verse ‘There shall step forth a star (kochab) out of Jacob’ (Numbers 24: 17). During the First Revolt coins had been minted from silver in the Temple treasury. The destruction of the Temple by the Romans 70 CE meant that this time existing coinage in circulation had to be gathered, filed and restamped. There are several types of overstruck Roman silver denarii (or zuz in Hebrew). The obverse usually depicts an abbreviated version of Bar Kochbar’s name surrounded by a wreath. The reverse shows the date (for years one and two) and a symbol associated with the Temple, in this case a palm branch. Another examples include a pair of trumpets, an amphora, a bunch of grapes or a lyre. They referred to the ambition to rebuild the Temple. Year three examples such as this one do not bear a date, rather the inscription ‘For the freedom of Jerusalem.’
Reverse: 'For the freedom of Jerusalem'/palm branch
The leader of the Second Jewish Revolt (132-135 CE) against Rome was Shim’on Bar Koseba. He was known as Bar Kochbar, meaning ‘Son of the Star’ in reference to messianic expectations of the verse ‘There shall step forth a star (kochab) out of Jacob’ (Numbers 24: 17). During the First Revolt coins had been minted from silver in the Temple treasury. The destruction of the Temple by the Romans 70 CE meant that this time existing coinage in circulation had to be gathered, filed and restamped. There are several types of overstruck Roman silver denarii (or zuz in Hebrew). The obverse usually depicts an abbreviated version of Bar Kochbar’s name surrounded by a wreath. The reverse shows the date (for years one and two) and a symbol associated with the Temple, in this case a palm branch. Another examples include a pair of trumpets, an amphora, a bunch of grapes or a lyre. They referred to the ambition to rebuild the Temple. Year three examples such as this one do not bear a date, rather the inscription ‘For the freedom of Jerusalem.’