Coiipei' Coin of Eleazar.
Another, with similar obverse, bears on the reverse the name " Simon" in a wreath. This latter, of which only one specimen exists, is considered a forgery, but an imitation of a genuine coin. If so, it would intimate
from the spring of Siloam ; and when the priests arrived with it at the water-gate, they blew the trumpet. Another with obverse, a cluster of grapes ; " Simon ;" re- verse, a palm-branch, " Second Year of the Deliverance
Coin of Simon, Son of Gioras.
of Israel." Another has on the obverse " Simon," in a wreath; reverse, a three-stringed lyre instead of the pitcher. Some with this type of the lyre have no date. Copper coins of the same period appear bearing the name of Simon : obverse, " Simon," the name divided by a palm-tree ; reverse, " The Deliverance of Jeru- salem ;" a vine-leaf. Another with a cluster of grapes instead of the vine-leaf. Another with the date of the second year. Another with "Jerusalem" instead of Simon. Another similar, with date of the second year.
Simon the son of Gamaliel is believed to have struck coins ; and those are attributed to him which bear the title of Nasi — chief or prince, used in the later age of
Spurious Coiu of Eleaznr. that Eleazar and Simon, during the time that they were acting in concert, issued coins bearing both their names. A curious shekel is attributed by Dr. Levy to Elea- zar : obverse, " Jerusalem," a tetrastyle temple ; reverse, " First Year of the Re- demption of Israel ;" the lulah, to the left of it A similar shekel occurs of the second vear.
Large Copper Coiu of Simon, Sou of Gamahel.
the ethrog. There are
Shekel of Eleazar.
also copper coins of the same period, one having on the obverse a palm-tree with the legend " Eleazar the High-
Coin of Eleazar (with the name backward)
Priest," written retrograde ; reverse, a cluster of grapes, with the legend "First Year of the Redemption of Israel" {Revue Numismatique, 18G0, pi. iii, 3, 4).
Simon the son of Gioras also struck coins of a similar character with those of Eleazar : obverse, " Simon" within a wreath; reverse, "The Deliverance of Jerusa- lem ;" a pitcher and palm-branch. Dr. Levy considers that the pitcher on these coins is not intended to be a repetition of that on the shekels of Simon Maccabffius, but to commemorate a Temple ceremony which on the seventh day of the feast of tabernacles was held with great pomp. A golden pitcher was tilled with water
the Jewish polity to signify prince or president of the Sanhedrim. One is of a large size, and probably struck on a large brass Roman coin. It bears the legend " Simon Prince of Israel," in a wreath clasped with a gem; and reverse, a vase with two handles; "First Year of the Redemption of Israel." Other coins are of the usual size — the half-copper shekel : " Simon Prince of Israel," written on the two sides of a palm-tree ; re- verse, vine-leaf ; " First Year of the Redemption of Israel." A similar coin has the date of the second 3'ear. To the same prince must be attributed coins with the same legends, but bearing on the obverse a palm-branch within a wreath, and on the reverse a lyre with three, live, or six strings.
Coins occur also in copper without any name : obverse, a vase with two handles ; " The Year Two ;" reverse, a
Small Copper Coiu of Simon, Son of Gamaliel.
vine-leaf; "The Deliverance of Zion." Another with the " Year Three." These are thought to have been struck by the authority of the Sanhedrim.
Another coin of the period of this first revolt, bearing the vine-leaf and the palm-tree, may possibly belong to Ananus or John of Gischala; but this is a matter of conjecture. This revolt terminated in the taking of Jerusalem bj' Titus and the destruction of the Temple.
The coins struck by Vespasian and Titus to com- memorate the capture of Jerusalem, though not Jewish coins, still merit some notice here. They are of all metals and sizes, and many are of verj- beautiful workmanship.
NUMISMATICS
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NUMISMATICS
They exhibit on the obverse the head of the emperor, with liis titles, and usually the date of his tribunitian power. On the reverse is the figure of the captive Judaea, generally sitting on the ground under a palm- tree, and in one instance the hands bound behind the back. On the gold and silver the legend, where there is one, of the reverse, is simply '• Juda;a," or "Juda?a devicta ;" on the brass, " Judrea capta," " Judwa devicta," and " Judaja navalis." This coin refers to some victo- ries gained over a body of Jews who had built a few small vessels and committed piracies on the coasts of Syria, Phoenicia, and Egypt. On the brass coins which commemorate the conquest the captive sometimes ap- pears guarded by a Koman soldier; sometimes a captive Jew stands on one side of the palm-tree, with his hands tied behind his back, and the female figure seated on the ground on the other. A coin of this kind was also struck by Domitian. See Money.
During the reign of the last emperor of the Flavian fiimily the Jews were treated with great severity; and among the manj' acts of leniency which characterized the accession of Nerva, one was that he abolished the Jewish tribute, and struck a coin with the remarkable legend '• Fisci Judaici calumnia sublata," the words writ- ten round a palm.