Judaea, The Jewish War, 66 – 70. Shekel, Jerusalem 66-67 (year 1), AR 22 mm, 13.72 g. In Paleo-Hebrew characters Temple vessel with date above. Rev. Jerusalem the Holy in Paleo-Hebrew characters Stem with three pomegranate fruits. Meshorer, Jewish Coins 187. AJC 3a. Kadman 2. Sofaer 2. Archaeological Centre, The Arnold Spaer Collection of Ancient Jewish Coins, 163. Hendin 6383. Struck on excellent metal and with a light tone. Minor areas of weakness, otherwise good extremely fineGraded AU, Strike: 4/5, Surface: 5/5, NGC photo certificate number 4161178-001 Ex Heritage 3018, 2012, Shoshana, 20107 and Heritage 3119, 2024, 30014 sales. In AD 66, decades of heavy taxation, cultural misunderstandings, outright abuse, and a growing sense of nationalism combined to ignite the First Jewish War (AD 66-70). Beginning with rioting over the abuses of the procurator Gessius Florus, unrest in Judaea turned into open revolt when Jewish rebels seeking freedom from Rome defeated three legions sent by Cestius Gallus, the Roman legate of Syria, to restore order. Realizing that this Jewish military victory marked the definitive break with Rome, an independent provisional Jewish government was established in Jerusalem while the hardened general Vespasian and his son Titus were sent to crush the rebellion. In 67, the largely Zealot defenders in Galilee were defeated, and in 68-69, the Romans marched down the coast, capturing Caesarea and other settlements. At last, in 70, Jerusalem was captured after factional divisions broke the central Jewish leadership, and Titus subjected it to a terrible siege. The city and its Temple were destroyed, and their wealth was carried off to adorn the triumph of Vespasian and Titus in Rome in 71. Over the course of this conflict, the provisional government in Jerusalem struck its own silver and bronze coinage despite increasing factionalism as the war progressed and the city was placed under siege. The silver coinage consisted of the shekel and half shekel—standard denominations inherited from the coinage of Tyre, which was traditionally considered the only money appropriate for the payment of Jewish taxes to the Temple. However, whereas Tyrian coins regularly featured the head of the local god Heracles-Melqart on the obverse and an eagle on the reverse in contravention of the Jewish prohibition of graven images, the new shekels and half shekels of Jerusalem strictly adhered to Jewish religious custom, depicting a cup on the obverse and a sprig with three pomegranate buds. It is generally agreed that the cup represents the Omer Cup, a sacred golden vessel in the Temple used to hold a ritual measure of grain on the second day of the Passover festival. The meaning of the pomegranate sprig has been somewhat less straightforward. Early numismatists misinterpreted the design, believing it depicted the miraculous rod of Aaron, which spontaneously sprouted blossoms and almonds as a sign that the tribe of Levi alone should provide the priestly class for the Israelites, according to Numbers 17:23. The rod was subsequently stored in the Ark of the Covenant. As the Ark and its contents disappear from the biblical account already in the seventh century BC, and there is no indication that they were still in the Temple to be carried off by the Romans at the end of the siege in AD 70 (whether they are sitting at the bottom of a snake pit in Egypt must remain conjectural), modern numismatists tend to understand the reverse of Jewish War silver issues as a sprig with three pomegranate buds. The pomegranate served as a symbol of both the Jerusalem Temple and its priesthood. The robe worn by the high priest featured a hem of pomegranates, and the capitals of the Temple's sacred pillars were adorned with carved pomegranates. Later Rabbinic tradition held that the pomegranate was associated with the Temple and the priestly class because it was believed to contain 613 seeds—one for each commandment in the Torah. The legends are written entirely in Paleo-Hebrew script and name the city of issue, “Jerusalem the Holy,” mimicking the Greek legends on Tyrian silver that identify them as “of Tyre the Holy and Inviolable.” Additional Paleo-Hebrew legends identify the denomination (shekel or half shekel) and give the date in years of the revolt. Please find here the video of the coin