Sheqel Year 2

Struck during the second year of the First Jewish Revolt against Rome, this sheqel was produced by a rebel administration that had seized Jerusalem and expelled the Roman garrison. The coins were deliberately archaic in character, evoking the ancient Hebrew script of the Persian period rather than the Greek or Latin conventions of contemporary coinage — a pointed political statement from a population that had been issuing only bronze under Roman authority for decades. Rome's eventual response under Vespasian and Titus resulted in the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD and the complete cessation of this series after Year Five.