Judea, Bar Kokhba Revolt. Silver Sela (14.17 g), 132-135 CE. Year 2 (133/4 CE). 'Simon' (Paleo-Hebrew), tetrastyle façade of the Temple of Jerusalem; show bread table or Ark of the Covenant in chest form with semicircular lid and short legs, seen from a narrow side; above façade, star. Reverse: 'Year two of the freedom of Israel' (Paleo-Hebrew), lulav with etrog at left. Hendin 1388; Mildenberg 34 (O8/R24) only 5 specimens cited. ; TJC 233. Lightly toned. Overstruck on a tetradrachm of Vespasian from Antioch. Choice Very Fine. Estimated Value $3,500 - UP
The sela'im of the second year (133/4 CE) of the Bar Kokhba War depart from the previous issues of the first and second years in the paleo-Hebrew obverse legend. Here, instead of the usual legend naming Jerusalem, now Simon [bar Kokhba] is named. It is unclear whether this change indicates that all hope of reclaiming the site of Jerusalem had been given up by the rebels by this point in the war or whether it merely indicates an increased emphasis on Bar Kokhba's personal leadership as a messianic figure.It should be noted that it is unlikely that Bar Kokhba's soldiers ever occupied Jerusalem. In all of the archaeological excavations that have been conducted there, tens of thousands of coins have been found, but only three of them were coins of Bar Kokhba.
Purchased privately from Stack's in the 1990s.