Lot 86
Judaea. The Bar Kokhba War, 132-135 CE. Large Bronze (32. 5 mm.; 21.19 g), dated Year Two, struck 133/134 CE. This coin is essentially as struck, and so we consider the piece a Superb Extremely Fine at the least. Filleted olive wreath, Palaeo-Hebrew inscription in two lines within ("Shim'on"). Reverse: Twin-handled, fluted amphora; Palaeo-Hebrew inscription around ("Year two of the freedom of Israel"). Mildenberg 19 (11 examples cited); Hendin 705; Mesh. AJC II, p. 270, 39. Exceptionally even strike, with the elegant reverse design. Smooth, blackish dark green patina, with occasional lighter dusky coloring. An extraordinary coin in all aspects - strike, flan, metal, style, and preservation. Without a doubt, the finest of its type. Very rare. NGC graded Extremely Fine.
Leo Mildernberg, who wrote the important corpus analyzing the Bar Kokhba coin series, considered the reverse die of the large bronze series, bearing the fluted amphora (seen on the above coin), as the finest and most beautiful design "in the entire Bar Kokhba coinage."
Estimated Value $30,000 - 40,000.
Illustrated in Money of the World, coin 25. Ex Millennia Sale, lot 55.
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| Realized $83,375 |
