Judea, Bar Kokhba Revolt. Silver Sela (14.83 g), 132-135 CE. Undated, attributed to year 3 (134/5 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: 'For the freedom of Jerusalem' (Paleo-Hebrew), lulav, without etrog. Hendin 1412; Mildenberg 58 (O13/R44); TJC 270. Pleasing light silver-grey tone. Choice Very Fine. Estimated Value $3,000 - UP
This undated sela attributed to the third year of the Bar Kokhba War lacks the etrog (citron) that normally accompanies the lulav bundle on its reverse. This omission suggests hasty engraving and production in the face of the overwhelming Roman assault that finally ended the war. It further connects this coin to several zuzim issues that omit the willow branch from their reverse dies. It is unclear whether this peculiarity warrants the classification of such zuzim and this sela as issues of the irregular Bar Kokhba mint.
Purchased privately from Stack's in the 1990s.