Obverse: Chalice with pearl rim, legend reading "For The Redemption
of Zion"
Reverse: Lulav flanked by Etrog on either side, legend reading Year
Four
In 66 A.D., while Nero was Emperor of Rome, the last Roman
Procurator Florian was accused of stealing from the Temple. To mock
him, protestors took up a collection of coins for the relief of the
"poverty-stricken" Procurator. Showing a rather poor sense of humor,
Florian sent troops to put down the disorder. This led to a full-scale
rebellion. The Roman troops eventually surrendered, but were killed
anyway. By now, the rebellion had grown to a full-scale war. The Jews
in Jerusalem started minting their own coins, with victory slogans,
such as this Shekel. But there was also fighting among the Jews, as
the more extreme elements took control from (and eliminated) the
moderate leaders, under whom the rebellion had started. Nero sent
his distinguished general, Vespasian, to stamp out the Jewish
rebellion. But political troubles at home led Nero to commit suicide,
and Vespasian headed back to Rome to claim the Emperorship for
himself, leaving his son Titus in charge of the Judaean campaign.
Vespasian was ultimately successful in his quest for the throne, and
as Titus was also ultimately successful in crushing the Judaean
rebellion. As a finishing touch, the Temple where the last of the
Jewish rebels in Jerusalem had holed up was burned to the ground in
70 B.C.
How many hands have touched a coin in your pocket or your purse?
What eras and lands have the coin traversed on its journey into our
possession? As we reach into our pockets to pull out some change,
we rarely hesitate to think of who touched the coin before us, or
where the coin will venture to after us. More than money, coins are a
symbol of the state that struck them, of a specific time and place,
whether contemporary currencies or artifacts of a long forgotten
empire. This stunning hand-struck coin reveals an expertise of
craftsmanship and intricate sculptural details that are often lacking in
contemporary machine-made currencies. Depicted on the reverse,
the pomegranate was one of the seven celebrated products of
Palestine and among the fruits that brought to the temple as
offerings of the first-fruits. Two hundred pomegranates decorated
each of the two columns in the temple and were an integral part of
the sacred vestment of the High Priest, as bells and pomegranates
were suspended from his mantle. The struggle of the Jewish people
to rule their homeland, as represented by this coin, has finally come
to an end in modern times. This coin reconnects us with the past,
with those who fought and struggled for their freedom against an
oppressive empire almost two thousand year ago.
