JUDAEA, Bar Kokhba War. 132-136 CE. Zuz = Denarius (Silver, 19 mm, 3.28 g, 6 h), regular coinage. Uncertain mint. Undated, but attributed to Year 3 = 134/5 CE. 𐤔𐤌𐤏𐤅𐤍 (‘Šimʿon’ in Paleo-Hebrew) Grape bunch on vine with small leaf to right. Rev. 𐤋𐤇𐤓𐤅𐤕 𐤉𐤓𐤅𐤔𐤋𐤌 ('For the Freedom of Jerusalem' in Paleo-Hebrew) Narrow three-stringed kithara-lyre. Bromberg I 187 (same dies). Hendin 6462. Meshorer, AJC, 57 (same dies). Mildenberg 139 (O11/R43). Samel 2479. Shoshana I 20467 (same dies). Sofaer 126 (same dies). Beautifully toned. Overstruck on a drachm of Trajan. Traces of overstriking, otherwise, nearly extremely fine.



Contrary to the description in Leu 91, this piece was not overstruck on a denarius, but on a drachm of Trajan from Arabia. This is suggested not only by the position of the letters above the faintly visible portrait, but also by the clearly discernible Greek rho in TPAIAN. The undertype is most likely one of the issues listed as RPC III 4072-4075.