Judaea, The Jewish War. Silver Shekel (14.14 g), 66-70 CE. Year 5 (April-Augustus 70 CE). 'Shekel of Israel' around, 'year 5' above, ritual chalice with pearled rim. Rev. 'Jerusalem the holy', sprig of three pomegranates. Hendin 1370; TJC 215 Deutsch die 12. Boldly struck and perfectly centered. Lightly toned. Candidate for "the pick from the Baldwin group". Superb Extremely Fine. Estimate Value $25,000 - UP
From the Palm Desert Collection. Ex Sotheby's; Baldwin Group.
Year 5 shekels are the rarest of all the shekels minted during the Jewish War. There were only four months that year to strike them before Titus captured Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple in the Fall of 70 CE. Nevertheless, during the last months of the siege when all commerce as well as the striking of bronze coins came to a halt, it was important to continue striking coins in silver in order for the Jews to continue to pay the half-shekel Temple tax, as commanded in Exodus 30.13. Several year 5 shekels were among the coins excavated at Masada, one of the most famous rebel strongholds against the Romans, which notoriously held out against them for three more years after Vespasian and Titus celebrated their Triumph in 71 CE. It is therefore known that at least some Jewish fighters were able to escape Jerusalem just before it fell. After the war, it was forbidden to use coins of the revolt, so the shekels were melted down into ingots, for their silver value.See Hendin p. 363 for a concise and interesting summary of the Baldwin Hoard.Josephus (de Bello Judaico 7.320-406) tells us that when at length it became evident that the Romans would prevail, the rebel commander of the zealot group known as the Sicarii, Eleazar ben Ya'ir, convinced his men to kill their wives and children and then to commit suicide, thereby depriving the Romans of the glory of taking them captives and sparing themselves from slavery.