Judaea, Bar Kokhba Revolt. Silver Sela (14.84 g), 132-135 CE. Year 2 (133/4 CE). 'Jerusalem' (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. Reverse: 'Year two of the freedom of Israel' (Paleo-Hebrew), lulav with etrog at left. Hendin 1385; TJC 229. Mildenberg 9 (O1/R8); Extremely Rare - only two examples noted by Mildenberg. Lustrous. Nearly Mint State. Value $8,000 - UP
This sela is especially notable because it is actually a hybrid coin muling a year 1 obverse with a year 2 reverse. This reuse of dies, which is more frequent for the smaller zuz denomination, may indicate the increasing pressures on the rebel mint(s) as the Roman's began to regroup after their initial defeats and prepared for the massive invasion of Judaea that would finally crush Bar Kokhba and his supporters.
Ex Goldberg (June 2010), 2217; Ex Antiqua XIV (December 2006), 87.