JUDAEA, Bar Kokhba War. 132-136 CE. Large Bronze (Bronze, 31 mm, 23.27 g, 1 h), regular coinage. Uncertain mint, Year 1 = 132/3 CE. 𐤔𐤌𐤏𐤅𐤍 𐤍𐤔𐤉𐤀 𐤉𐤔𐤓𐤀𐤋 ('Šimʿon, Nasi of Israel' in Paleo-Hebrew) within wreath tied with a medallion at the top and tendrils at the bottom. Rev. 𐤔𐤍𐤕 𐤀𐤇𐤕 𐤋𐤂𐤀𐤋𐤕 𐤉𐤔𐤓𐤀𐤋 ('Year 1 of the Redemption of Israel' in Paleo-Hebrew) Amphora with two handles. Bromberg I 229 (same dies). Hendin 6405 (same dies). Meshorer, AJC, 3 (same dies). Mildenberg 10 (O2/R7). Samel 2378 (same dies). Shoshana I 20235. Sofaer 3. Rare and exceptionally well preserved and complete, surely one of the finest known examples. Somewhat smoothed, otherwise, about extremely fine.



Following the Year 1 zuz naming 'Eleazar the Priest' (see lot 240 above), the large bronze introduces Simon bar Kosiba (Bar Kokhba) for the first time in our sequence, the central and best-attested historical figure of the uprising that now bears his name. Its obverse legend, 'Shimʿon, Nasi of Israel', presents the fullest formulation of his authority on the coinage and distinguishes him from Eleazar, who bears only the sacerdotal title 'the Priest'.

Contemporary documents from the Judaean Desert preserve his name as Shimʿon ben Kosiba and confirm that Nasi Israel was not merely a numismatic slogan but the official title of the rebel leader. Bourgel has recently argued that the title should be understood against Ezekiel's vision of the restored Temple, presenting Simon not simply as a military commander but as the supreme lay ruler responsible for the restoration of Jerusalem, its sanctuary, and its worship (Bourgel pp. 18–21, 29–30). The deliberate distribution of names in Year 1 – Eleazar on the zuz and one small-bronze type, Simon on the large and middle bronzes, and neither man on the sela'im – has accordingly been interpreted as evidence for an initial division of authority between priest and nasi (Jacobson pp. 177–178, 190–193).

The later Jerusalem Talmud famously relates that Rabbi Akiva acclaimed Bar Kosiba with the words 'This is the King Messiah', only to be answered by Rabbi Johanan ben Torta: 'Grass will grow on your cheeks and the son of David will not yet have come' (y. Ta'anit 4.5, 68d; cf. Ekhah Rabbah 2.4). An even later and more hostile tradition has Bar Kosiba himself declare, 'I am the Messiah' (b. Sanhedrin 93b). Although these rabbinic accounts cannot be treated as contemporary testimony, they illustrate the extraordinary expectations later associated with Simon, while the firmer numismatic evidence shows that, with Eleazar's disappearance and the extension of Simon's name to the silver coinage in Year 2, the nasi emerged as the sole and dominant authority of the revolt.