Judaean War Coins

Great coins and display, Ray! Very important set of Judaean coinage with so much historical drama and intrigue attached to them! You ought to be very proud!

 

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Your eighth shekel is my favourite piece on your display. Why is that? Well, because the Year four bronzes are intriguing. The legend change from the Year 2 and 3 'freedom of Zion' to Year 4 with 'for the redemption of Zion' is fascinating. Does it imply a note of increasing desperation on the rebel's behalf as Meshorer believes? Much scholarly ink has been spilled trying to work it out. The fact that fractions of the shekel were struck in bronze and not in silver during Year four may indeed hint at increasing dire straits for the rebels. Reinach thought 'all the reserve of silver and gold, formerly hoarded in the treasury of the Temple, had been exhausted by necessities of war.' And Kadman and Meshorer believe there is a direct connection with the striking of the bronze shekel fractions and the lack of Year 4 silver shekels, hinting that there was a lack of available silver.

A lot of history crammed into such a little bronze!

 

Awesome and fascinating information, my friend! Thank you, @David Atherton

 

You're quite welcome! Our interests are, shall we say, opposite sides of the same coin.

 

Were all of the year four coins stuck inside Jerusalem while it was surrounded during the siege? To me , that would be just fascinating holding a coin that was made and spent while your enemies were within yards of you.

 

No. The Year four coins were struck prior to Titus' arrival in Year 5. And there are precious few of those, for obvious reasons!

NB: No bronze from Year 5 have survived.

 

Thanks David and beautiful coins Deacon Ray and all the rest of everyone's coins as well. I get goosebumps holding these coins and reading Josephus and knowing how it all ends.

 

I disappear for a little while and when I get back here there is always one thing to bank on- @Deacon Ray will have created a great looking background for a group of awesome coins!

(won't take long to stumble across a FelTemp post by @randygeki )

 

I posted this in another thread, but it may illustrate the Romans warring on the Judaeans... also probly struck during /circa Iesus’ birth year...

PUBLIUS QUINCTILIUS VARUS
RARE AE OF ANTIOCHEIA, SYRIA


RPC 4252, SNG Cop. 92, About Very Fine / Very Fine, 20.4mm, 8.03 grams, Dated year 27 = 5/4 B.C.E.

Obverse: Laureate head of Zeus to right

Reverse: Tyche of Antioch seated to right, holding palm branch; below, river-god Orontes swimming right, in right field, date ZK (year 27 = 5/4 B.C.E.)

This rare coin was struck during Varus' assignment as governor of Syria from 7 - 4 B.C.E. Varus guarded the borders from Parthia and violently quelled unrest in Judaea and Samaria. Josephus records an incident wherein after the death of Herod., Varus occupied Jerusalem and crucified 2,000 Jews.

Later Varus was transfered to the Northern front, where he met disaster fighting the Germanic tribes in the Teutoburg forest. Three legions under his command, legions XVII, XVIII and XIX were completely annihilated. This caused emperor Augustus great grief and he was said to have cried out on occasion "Quintili Vare, legiones redde!" or "Quinctilius Varus, give me back my legions!"

 

Alegandron, Nice score ! The obverse of your coin is hard to discern but the reverse is very clear .

 

Thank you. Yeah, I trusted the attribute for the obverse, and yes in the pic I have to look hard to see Zeus. In hand, you can see him a little better. But FINDING that coin was harder. As soon as I saw it, and verified it, I snapped that puppy up!

My favorite University Prof really drove the story of Varus home. He really acted out that saga. It was the watershed of the expansion of the Roman Empire...

 

https://antiquities.academia.edu/DonaldTAriel