JUDAEA, Bar Kokhba War. 132-136 CE. Large Bronze (Bronze, 29 mm, 13.93 g, 12 h), regular coinage. Uncertain mint, Year 1 = 132/3 CE. 𐤉𐤓𐤅/𐤔𐤋𐤌 ('Jerusalem' 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 230 (same dies). Hendin 6404 (same reverse die). Meshorer, AJC, 4 (same dies). Mildenberg 12 (O3/R4). Samel 2379 (same dies). Shoshana I 20227 (same dies). Sofaer 4 (same dies). Very rare. Repatinated, otherwise, very fine.



Among the two Year 1 large-bronze types, the present issue is the anonymous counterpart to the coin naming 'Shimʿon, Nasi of Israel' (see lot 241 above): its obverse bears only 'Jerusalem' within a wreath, while the reverse proclaims 'Year One of the Redemption of Israel' around an amphora. The contrast appears deliberate, shifting the emphasis from the leader of the revolt to the city that embodied its principal religious and national aspirations.

Although some earlier scholars inferred from such legends that the rebels had captured Jerusalem, the prevailing view today is that they probably never held the city. 'Jerusalem' should therefore be understood not as a mint signature or a declaration of possession, but as a programmatic slogan expressing the hoped-for liberation of the holy city and the restoration of its Temple. Paired with the broader Year 1 formula 'Redemption of Israel', the name places Jerusalem at the very heart of the rebel state's ideological programme. The coin thus complements the contemporary large bronze naming Simon: one proclaims the authority of the nasi, the other the sacred goal towards which that authority was directed.