Rare Half-Shekel Silver Coin From Year One of the First Jewish Revolt Against the Romans Discovered in the Judean Desert

A rare half-shekel silver coin from Year One of the First Jewish Revolt against the Romans, was discovered in the Judean Desert.

On the coin “Holy Jerusalem” appears in ancient Hebrew. The coin was found in the Judean Desert Survey led by the Israel Antiquities Authority together with the Ministry of Heritage and the Staff Officer of the Civil Administration Archaeology Unit in Judea and Samaria, with the aim of retrieving these ancient finds before the antiquity looters.

The rare silver half-shekel from the time of the First Jewish Revolt against the Romans over 2000 years ago, was discovered in the Judean Desert in the Ein Gedi nature reserve.

The coin, dated to 66/67CE, was found in the Judean Desert Survey Project that has been carried out over the last six years by the Israel Antiquities Authority together with the Ministry of Heritage and the Staff Officer of the Civil Administration Archaeology Unit in Judea, with the aim of retrieving the archaeological treasures before the antiquity looters.

Recently, while examining every cave and crack in the rock, the Israel Antiquities Authority inspectors reached a cliff in a wadi near En Gedi, when they came across the coin on the ground at the entrance of one of the caves. One explanation for this finding is that the Jerusalem-minted coin fell from the pocket of a rebel who escaped to the desert during the revolt – perhaps on his way to nearby En Gedi.

On one side of the coin, “The Holy Jerusalem” appears in ancient Hebrew script, the word “Holy” spelt without a vowel, reflecting the development of the writing on the coins that appeared later in the Revolt as “The Holy Jerusalem” with the vowel. Three pomegranates are depicted on the center of the coin, a familiar symbol as it was adopted on the old Israeli Lira coin that was currency in the State of Israel until 1980.

On the other side of the coin, a chalice is depicted, above which the letter “Aleph” appears marking the first year of the outbreak of the Revolt, and the value “Half-Shekel”. The chalice is a characteristic symbol on Jewish coins in currency towards the end of the Second Temple period. These coins were minted in the values of shekel and half-shekel at the time of the First Revolt of the Jews against the Romans in Judea between the years 66–70 CE, when the Second Temple was destroyed in Jerusalem.

It is noteworthy that, in line with the Torah commandment prohibiting the depiction of images, the Jews used vegetal motifs and cultic and religious symbols on their coins, whilst the pagan population depicted symbols such as animals and the portrait of the ruling emperors, as well as the Greek language that was the common language employed at the time.

As part of the Jewish defiance, and the creation of an internal ‘Jewish Revolt economy’, the rebels minted their own silver and bronze coins depicting Jewish symbols. It is interesting that the rebels chose to use the archaic Hebrew script that was current several hundred years earlier, at the time of the First Temple Period, rather than the Greek script that was used by the population in the country and the region at the time of the Second Temple. The leaders of the Jewish Revolt chose to defy the rulers, and to mint silver coins autonomously, using the Hebrew script and without the image of the ruling Emperor. It seems that the coins were minted in Jerusalem, possibly in the Temple precinct.

According to Yaniv David Levy, Israel Antiquities Authority numismatic scholar, “Coins from the first year of the Revolt, such as this one, are rare. During the Second Temple period, Jewish pilgrims used to pay a Temple Tax in half-shekel coins. For about two centuries, Tyrian-minted coins, made of fine silver and a status symbol in the region, were used for this contribution. During the revolt the rebels minted alternative coins inscribed with “Shekel Israel”, “Half-Shekel” and “Quarter-Shekel”. It seems that the rituals in the Temple continued during the revolt and these coins were now used by the rebels.”

Amir Ganor, a Director of the Judean Desert Survey and Excavation Project said, “The find of the silver Year One half-shekel during a controlled archaeological activity is a rare event in Israel, and in the Judean Desert in particular. This find emphasizes the importance of the controlled professional survey of the entire Judean Desert. Every new find contributes to the history of the people and the country. Were it not for the survey, the coin may have been found by antiquity looters and sold on the antiquity market for the highest price offered. Over the six years of the project, we have recorded over 800 caves, and have found thousands of significant finds.”