Publisher's Synopsis
The study deals with the coins issued by the Jews during the First Revolt against Rome. The main literary source describing the events is the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, who was also one of the leaders of the revolt. The coins were minted during the first five years, from the outbreak of the war in 66 C.E., till the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E. The revolt continued till the capture of the last stronghold of Masada in 73 C.E., but no coins were found bearing a date later than the fifth year. This may indicate that the manufacturing place was in Jerusalem, and once the city was captured by the Romans, the minting had been terminated. The coins were produced in silver and bronze. The silver coins were made of high quality metal and according to high minting standards. All silver coins are bearing the slogan: "Jerusalem the Holy", and indicate their weight unit: "Shekel of Israel", "Half of a shekel" or "quarter of a shekel". All the silver coins, with a single exception, display the same cultic iconography: a chalice on the obverse and a staff with three buds of pomegranates on the reverse. The bronze coins of the second and third years, which carry the slogan: "Freedom of Zion", are abundant and negligently manufactured. The bronze coins of the fourth year, which are of different denominations, are of a slightly higher quality and bear the legend: "To the redemption of Zion". The iconography on these bronze coins is connected with the Jewish cult and festivals. The coins minted by the Jewish rebels during the First Revolt are very important as they are a first-hand evidence independent of literary sources. The past research dealt mainly with the recording of the different types of coins and their variants. The only serious attempt to examine in depth the coinage of the First Jewish Revolt was made recently in a preliminary study by Goldstein and Fontanille (2006). Consequently, the present research aimed at examining various aspects of the First Revolt coinage which have been neglected so far.
