Judaea. First Jewish Revolt - Jerusalem Mint. Prutah - Year 2, (67-68 AD) (Ohne Mindestpreis)

Judaea, Jewish war - First Revolt Prutah - Year 2 (Æ ; 14.8-15.9mm; 2.35g; 12h), Very fine + , natural rich dark patina with some original desert earthing deposits. Minted at Jerusalem in 67-68 CE by the Jewish rebels during the First Jewish Revolt, depicts on the obverse an amphora, and on the reverse a vine leaf. The prutah (in Hebrew פרוטה) was a Jewish bronze coin both by the prefects of the Roman province of Judea, and also by the Jews during the First Revolt.

This prutah comes from the second year of the First Jewish Revolt, which broke out in 66 CE, reached a climax with the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple by Titus in 70 , and continued until 73 CE when the last Jewish stronghold of Masada was captured. The inscription in Hebrew on the obverse, “שנת שתים” (ŠNT ŠTYM), means “year 2,” and refers to the second year of independence from Roman rule, while the inscription on the reverse, “חרת ציון” (HRWT ZYWN), reads “Freedom of Zion,” in which Zion probably references the city of Jerusalem, reinforcing this message. The obverse depicts an amphora, or large vessel, while the reverse depicts a vine leaf. These coins from the First Jewish Revolt, minted by the Jewish rebels, are valuable as first-hand, non-literary evidence of the event (Deutsch, “Coinage of the First Jewish Revolt,” p. 361), and reveal something of the ideology which the Jews wished to maintain and circulate during this momentous stand against the Roman imperial power. As Robert Deutsch and others have suggested, it could be that minting which had taken place in Jerusalem previously ceased once the city was captured (see Deutsch, “Coinage of the First Jewish Revolt,” p. 361).

However, coins such as this prutah minted in the earlier part of the revolt are thought to have been minted under the authority of the temple officials – the priests led by the high priest (see Deutsch, “Coinage of the First Jewish Revolt,” p. 361; Rappaport, “Who Minted the Jewish War’s Coins?” p. 106-108). Hendin 6389b.