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In 66 A.D., while Nero was Emperor of Rome,
the
last Roman Procurator Florian was accused
of
stealing from the Temple. To mock him,
protestors took up a collection of coins for
the
relief of the "poverty-stricken" Procurator.
Showing a rather poor sense of humor,
Florian
sent troops to put down the disorder. This led
to
a full-scale rebellion. The Roman troops
eventually surrendered, but were killed
anyway.
By now, the rebellion had grown to a full-
scale
war. The Jews in Jerusalem started minting
their
own coins, with victory slogans, such as this
Shekel. But there was also fighting among
the
Jews, as the more extreme elements took
control
from (and eliminated) the moderate leaders,
under whom the rebellion had started. Nero
sent
his distinguished general, Vespasian, to
stamp
out the Jewish rebellion. But political troubles
at
home led Nero to commit suicide, and
Vespasian
headed back to Rome to claim the
Emperorship
for himself, leaving his son Titus in charge of
the
Judaean campaign. Vespasian was ultimately
successful in his quest for the throne, and as
Titus was also ultimately successful in
crushing
the Judaean rebellion. As a finishing touch,
the
Temple where the last of the Jewish rebels in
Jerusalem had holed up was burned to the
ground in 70 B.C.
How many hands have touched a coin in
your
pocket or your purse? What eras and lands
have
the coin traversed on its journey into our
possession? As we reach into our pockets to
pull
out some change, we rarely hesitate to think
of
who touched the coin before us, or where the
coin will venture to after us. More than
money,
coins are a symbol of the state that struck
them,
of a specific time and place, whether
contemporary currencies or artifacts of a long
forgotten empire. This stunning hand-struck
coin reveals an expertise of craftsmanship
and
intricate sculptural details that are often
lacking
in contemporary machine-made currencies.
Depicted on the reverse, the pomegranate
was
one of the seven celebrated products of
Palestine
and among the fruits that brought to the
temple
as offerings of the first-fruits. Two hundred
pomegranates decorated each of the two
columns in the temple and were an integral
part
of the sacred vestment of the High Priest, as
bells
and pomegranates were suspended from his
mantle. The struggle of the Jewish people to
rule
their homeland, as represented by this coin,
has
finally come to an end in modern times. This
coin
reconnects us with the past, with those who
fought and struggled for their freedom
against an
oppressive empire almost two thousand year
ago.
- (LC.410)
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