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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. 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.
- (LC.421)
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