Obverse: A Chalice Surrounded by the
Inscription: “Shekel of Israel/Year Three”
Reverse: Sprig of Three Pomegranates
Surrounded by the Inscription: “Jerusalem the
Holy”
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.
