| Heritage World Coin Auctions > NYINC Signature Sale 3113 | Auction date: 8 January 2024 |
| Lot number: 31042 Price realized: 9,000 USD (Approx. 8,204 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Ancients JUDAEA. The Jewish War (AD 66-70). AR shekel (22mm, 13.83 gm, 12h). NGC Choice AU 5/5 - 4/5. Jerusalem, dated Year 3 (April AD 68-May AD 69). Shekel of Israel (Paleo-Hebrew), omer cup with pearled rim, base resting on raised projections; Year Three above / Jerusalem the Holy (Paleo-Hebrew), staff with three pomegranate buds and globular base. GBC 6, 6390. An arctic flan flashes with wintry brilliance backlighting the bold devices. From The Bob Klein History of Money Collection. Ex Heritage Auctions, Auction 3051 (9 January 2017), lot 34049. After decades of abuses heaped by the Romans upon the denizens of Judaea, the Jews were ripe for revolt. In AD 66, the Procurator Gessius Florus summarily seized 16 talents of silver from the Jerusalem temple. A massive protest by the citizens brought a typically brutal Roman response and more than 3,000 Jews were slain. Pleas for calm by the client King Agrippa II fell on deaf ears as the city and countryside rose in full-scale revolt. Florus and the Roman garrison were driven from the city; an attempt by the legate of nearby Syria to put down the rebellion led to the loss of an entire Legion, XII Fulminata, and consternation in Rome. Once freed of the Romans, Jerusalem temple authorities began striking their own silver coinage - the first time that a sovereign Jewish government had done so. The mint was likely located within the Temple complex and the silver provided by the stockpiles of Tyrian shekels kept in the treasury. Mintage was carefully controlled for weight, fineness and the legends each coin carried. The coins featured Jewish symbolism dating back centuries and slogans ("For the Freedom of Jerusalem" and "For the Redemption of Zion") that showed the leaders of the rebellion well understood how to use coins for mass communication. Workmanship in the manufacture of these thick shekels and half-shekels (smaller silver fractions were also struck in tiny numbers) was unusually high, given the wartime conditions under which they were created. Coins were dated to the year the revolt started, beginning with Year 1 (AD 66/7). https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/judaea/ancients-judaea-the-jewish-war-ad-66-70-ar-shekel-22mm-1383-gm-12h-ngc-choice-au-5-5-4-5/a/3113-31042.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-WorldCoins-3113-01082024 HID02906262019 © 2023 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved Estimate: 10000-15000 USD |  |
Match 1:
| Heritage World Coin Auctions > CSNS Signature Sale 3115 | Auction date: 8 May 2024 |
| Lot number: 31033 Price realized: 25,000 USD (Approx. 23,258 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Ancients JUDAEA. The Jewish War (AD 66-70). AR half-shekel (18mm, 6.87 gm, 11h). NGC Choice XF 5/5 - 1/5, scratches. Jerusalem, dated Year 3 (April AD 68-May AD 69). Half of a shekel (Paleo-Hebrew), ritual chalice with pearled rim, base resting on raised projections; Year Three (Paleo-Hebrew) above / Jerusalem the Holy (Paleo-Hebrew), staff with three pomegranate buds and globular base. GBC 6, 6391. Wonder example of this rare issuance well-struck on a charcoal toned flan of sound metal. From the M&N Collection. Guide to Biblical Coins notes only 105 known Year Three half-shekels. This is somewhat puzzling as the half-shekel is named in several ancient sources as the amount of the Temple Tax paid by every Jewish male over the age of 20, and one would think that such a denomination would be at least as common in circulation as its double. However, roughly the same survival rate applies to the Tyrian shekels and half-shekels previously used to pay the tax. https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/judaea/ancients-judaea-the-jewish-war-ad-66-70-ar-half-shekel-18mm-687-gm-11h-ngc-choice-xf-5-5-1-5-scratches/a/3115-31033.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-WorldCoins-3115-05082024 HID02906262019 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved Estimate: 10000-15000 USD |  |
Match 2:
| Heritage World Coin Auctions > NYINC Signature Sale 3114 | Auction date: 16 January 2024 |
| Lot number: 33192 Price realized: 1,700 USD (Approx. 1,562 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Ancients JUDAEA. Bar Kokhba Revolt (AD 132-135). AR zuz (18mm, 3.28 gm, 12h). NGC AU 3/5 - 4/5, overstruck. Undated issue of Year 3 (AD 134/5). Simon (Paleo-Hebrew), bunch of grapes in three lobes on vine, leaf to right, tendril to left / For the Freedom of Jerusalem (Paleo-Hebrew), two upright trumpets, pellet between. GBC 6, 6458. Mildenberg 167 (O21/R107). Sharp remnant detailing with areas of the host designs visible. Ex Ed Waddell, private sale; Malter Galleries (24 November 1996), lot 463. Overstruck on a Roman drachm with Trajan's portrait and AVTO of the legend partially visible on the reverse. https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/judaea/ancients-judaea-bar-kokhba-revolt-ad-132-135-ar-zuz-18mm-328-gm-12h-ngc-au-3-5-4-5-overstruck/a/3114-33192.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-WorldCoins-3114-01162024 HID02906262019 © 2023 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved |  |
Match 3:
| Heritage World Coin Auctions > NYINC Signature Sale 3114 | Auction date: 16 January 2024 |
| Lot number: 33194 Price realized: 3,800 USD (Approx. 3,491 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Ancients JUDAEA. Bar Kokhba Revolt (AD 132-135). AR zuz (20mm, 3.74 gm, 6h). NGC Choice AU 5/5 - 4/5, overstruck. Undated issue of Year 3 (AD 134/5). Simon (Paleo-Hebrew), bunch of grapes in three lobes hanging from branch, tendrils to left and right / For the Freedom of Jerusalem (Paleo-Hebrew), kinnor (lyre) with three strings. GBC 6, 6462. Mildenberg 173.2 (this coin). Full details visible on the broad flan. Ex Edward J. Waddell, private sale with old dealer's tag included. https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/judaea/ancients-judaea-bar-kokhba-revolt-ad-132-135-ar-zuz-20mm-374-gm-6h-ngc-choice-au-5-5-4-5-overstruck/a/3114-33194.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-WorldCoins-3114-01162024 HID02906262019 © 2023 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved |  |
Match 4:
| Heritage World Coin Auctions > CSNS Signature Sale 3115 | Auction date: 8 May 2024 |
| Lot number: 31034 Price realized: 8,500 USD (Approx. 7,908 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Ancients JUDAEA. Bar Kokhba Revolt (AD 132-135). AR sela (26mm, 14.12 gm, 1h). NGC Choice AU 4/5 - 4/5, lamination. Dated Year 2 (AD 133/4). Simon (Paleo-Hebrew) on two sides, star above façade of the Jerusalem Temple, the Ark of the Covenant seen from end in center of entrance / Year two of the Freedom of Israel (Paleo-Hebrew), lulav with etrog to left. GBC 6, 6417. Mildenberg 140, 43 (same dies). TJC 233. AJC II 267, 16a. This beautiful specimen showcases a clear legend from the undertype, highlighting the significant political message its existence conveyed. From the Bob Klein History of Money Collection. Ex Heritage Auctions, Auction 3061 (7 January 2018), lot 29290; Shoshana Collection (Heritage Auctions, Auction 3018, 5 September 2012), lot 20173 Overstruck on Trajan Syria, Antioch tetradrachm with outline of his portrait and a partial legend of the host coin visible on reverse: NEP TRAINO. Unlike coins of the first Jewish War against Rome (AD 66-70), all coins of the Bar Kokhba Revolt were overstruck on Roman Provincial issues already in circulation, mainly silver tetradrachms and drachms of Antioch, Tyre, and Caesarea in Cappadocia, as well as Roman silver denarii. The government of Simon Bar Kokhba mainly controlled the Judaean hinterlands, hiding men and equipment in an elaborate network of underground caves and tunnels, and did not have the time or resources to set up a full-fledged mint with smelting, refining and casting capabilities. All the same, it must have given the rebel mintmasters a certain thrill to hammer flat the images of the Roman emperors and Pagan deities who they hoped to banish from Israel altogether. The imagery of Bar Kokhba coins focuses upon the symbols related to the original Temple of Jerusalem - the façade of which appears on the obverse of the large silver tetradrachm-sized selas, and the Feast of Tabernacles, with the lulav and etrog occupying the reverse. Coins struck during the first and second years of the revolt carry a date ("Year One / Two of the Redemption of Israel"), while coins struck during the third year (AD 134-135) are undated. https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/judaea/ancients-judaea-bar-kokhba-revolt-ad-132-135-ar-sela-26mm-1412-gm-1h-ngc-choice-au-4-5-4-5-lamination/a/3115-31034.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-WorldCoins-3115-05082024 HID02906262019 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved Estimate: 5000-7000 USD |  |
Match 5:
| Heritage World Coin Auctions > NYINC Signature Sale 3114 | Auction date: 16 January 2024 |
| Lot number: 33190 Price realized: 1,700 USD (Approx. 1,562 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Ancients JUDAEA. Bar Kokhba Revolt (AD 132-135). AR zuz (18mm, 3.57 gm, 12h). NGC AU 4/5 - 5/5, overstruck. Undated issue of Year 3 (AD 134/5). Simon (Paleo-Hebrew), legend within wreath of thin branches wrapped around eight almonds; medallion at top, tendrils at bottom / For the Freedom of Jerusalem (Paleo-Hebrew), elongated lyre (kinnor or kithara) with three strings. GBC 6, 6456. Deeply struck with a great deal of the host coin visible making it a fantastic example of this series of coinage. Ex Edward J. Waddell, private sale with old dealer's tag included. Overstruck on a Trajan denarius with the profile of the Emperor's face and sections of the original legends visible. https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/judaea/ancients-judaea-bar-kokhba-revolt-ad-132-135-ar-zuz-18mm-357-gm-12h-ngc-au-4-5-5-5-overstruck/a/3114-33190.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-WorldCoins-3114-01162024 HID02906262019 © 2023 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved |  |
