344 The First Jewish Shekels. 



On the obverse of some of them (see Fig. 10) is the national 

 emblem of the palm, as it appeared on the famous Roman 

 sestertius of Titus. This type is accompanied by the name 

 " Simeon/^ which has sometimes the addition " Nassi Israel," 

 prince of Israel. On the reverse of this type is a vine leaf, the 

 inscriptions accompanying which are various. The same types 

 also occur on silver coins. 



The best of these coins are of very superior workmanship 

 in their peculiar style, and their size and general character 

 make them a fitting climax to the numismatic history of Judaea. 

 Barcocebas was not joined by the Christians of Jerusalem in con- 

 sequence of the great cruelties which he perpetrated, by which 

 he lost a very important element of possible success. Neverthe- 

 less, the rebellion was not subdued till the popular commander, 

 Julius Severus, had been called from Britain to lead a new army 

 against the Jewish insurgents. As the rebellion drew to a 

 close, coins of a very inferior character were issued, some 

 of them being, in fact, Roman denarii, over the devices of 

 which the Jewish symbols and inscriptions were stamped, in 

 many cases the original workmanship of the Roman coin being 

 still discernible. The types of a large copper coin of unusual 

 size, bearing the inscription, " Simon, prince of Israel," and 

 year 1 of the redemption of Israel, appears to have been struck 

 over an old Roman sestertius of the early period of the empire, 

 before the size of the Roman large copper was reduced. 



These last-named coins, which finally close the Jewish series, 

 were at one time the only coins attributed to the epoch of the 

 revolt of Simon Barcocebas. 



The insurrection being finally and completely subdued, a 

 Pagan temple was erected in a conspicuous situation, and 

 statues of Jupiter and Venus stood on the spot where the 

 crucifixion of Christ had taken place, while Jews were for- 

 bidden from any longer inhabiting Jerusalem, which was at 

 once converted into a Roman colony under the title of Colonia 

 iElia Capitolina, in honour of Hadrian's prenomen, ^Elius. 

 Roman coins of this colony, of precisely the same class as 

 those of other Roman colonies, were struck on the occasion, 

 and similar coins were issued during the reigns of succeeding 

 emperors. A tolerably complete series exists up to the reign 

 of Trajanus Decius, and, with some omissions, even to the time 

 of Hostilianus, during which long period the name of Jerusalem 

 was as it were obliterated, and that of iElia Capitolina adopted 

 in its place. \ 



Before closing these remarks on the ancient coinage of the 

 JeAvs, it may not bo amiss to put travellers in the East on bheir 

 guard against purchasing at extraordinary prices the coins that 

 will be offered to them while at Jerusalem, as being found in 



