Judaea, Bar Kokhba Revolt. Silver Zuz (3.28 g), 132-135 CE. Hybrid Year One and Year Two. (132/3-133/4 CE). 'Year one of the redemption of Israel' (Paleo-Hebrew), bunch of grapes with branch and small leaf. Rev. 'Year two of the freedom of Israel' (Paleo-Hebrew), palm branch. Mildenberg 10 (O2/R8); TJC 237; Hendin 1382. Luster still present. Boldly struck and perfectly centered. Very rare. Mint State. Estimate Value $10,000 - UP
From the S. Moussaieff Collection, This lot has been officially exported from Israel through the Israel Antiquities Authority.
A hybrid coin struck from two reverse dies, one from the first year (132/3 CE) and the other from the second year (133/4 CE) of the Bar Kokhba War. This sort of reverse muling, which appears to have been peculiar to the zuz denomination, may have taken place late in the second year when the tide was beginning to turn decisively against the Bar Kokhba rebels and the coins were struck under difficult conditions with little concern for quality control. These mules are important from a technical perspective because they show that in the Bar Kokhba mint(s) obverse and reverse dies were completely interchangeable.