A Bronze Test Strike from the Bar Kokhba Revolt more

Published by the Israel Numismatic Society Volume 1 Contents 3 Upon the Appearance of the First Issue of Israel Numismatic Research 5 HAIM GITLER: A Hacksilber and Cut Athenian Tetradrachm Hoard from the Environs of Samaria: Late Fourth Century BCE 15 CATHARINE C. LORBER: The Last Ptolemaic Bronze Emission of Tyre 21 DANNY SYON: Numismatic Evidence of Jewish Presence in Galilee before the Hasmonean Annexation? 25 OLIVER D. HOOVER: A Late Hellenistic Lead Coinage from Gaza 37 ANNE DESTROOPER: Jewish Coins Found in Cyprus 51 DANIEL HERMAN: The Coins of the Itureans 73 JEAN-PHILIPPE FONTANILLE and DONALD T. ARIEL: The Large Dated Coin of Herod the Great: The First Die Series 87 DAVID M. HOFFEDITZ: Divus of Augustus: The Influence of the Trials of Maiestas upon Pontius Pilate’s Coins 97 STEPHEN N. GERSON: A New Countermark of the Fifth Legion 101 JERZY CIECIELÀG: Anti-Jewish Policy of the Roman Empire from Vespasian until Hadrian, in the Light of Numismatic Sources – Fact or Myth? 111 DAVID HENDIN: A Bronze Test Strike from the Bar Kokhba Revolt 117 ALLA KUSHNIR-STEIN: The City-Goddess on the Weights of Ascalon 123 LAURENT BRICAULT: Deities from Egypt on the Coins of the Southern Levant 137 NIKOLAUS SCHINDEL: The End of Umayyad Coinage in Southern Bilad al-Sham 151 ROBERT KOOL: From the Horse’s Mouth: Re-Dating the Anonymous Tvrris Davit Issue 157 DANNY GOLDMAN: The Hugo Wennagel Hoard, August 25/26, 1941 — December 7, 2003 167 REVIEW: H. Gitler and O. Tal: The Coinage of Philistia of the Fifth and Fourth Centuries BC. A Study of the Earliest Coins of Palestine. Milan 2006 (François de Callataÿ) 169 REVIEW: J. Lefort, C. Morrisson and J.-P. Sodini eds.: Les villages dans l’empire byzantin – IVe-XVe siècle. Paris 2005 (Gabriela Bijovsky) 173 REVIEW: Y. Meshorer: The Third Side of the Coin. ed. Hana Amit. Jerusalem 2006 [Hebrew] (Cecilia Meir) 177 Guidelines for Contributors 184 Abbreviations Israel Numismatic Research 2006 Upon the Appearance of the First Issue of Israel Numismatic Research The Israel Numismatic Society (INS) is happy to announce the publication of its new peer-reviewed journal, Israel Numismatic Research. Research of the ancient, medieval and modern coinage of this region has become increasingly relevant to multi-disciplinary studies in fields such as archaeology, history and iconography. In inaugurating Israel Numismatic Research the INS national board wishes to stress the importance of having a high level numismatic journal which appears regularly, at the end of each calendar year. The ability to publish a true annual reflects the advances in the field of numismatics in Israel over the past decade. The title of the journal signals the Society’s wish to encourage comprehensive and innovative research in the field. The focus of Israel Numismatic Research will be on coinages circulating in the southern Levant, from antiquity through to the modern era. Articles on medals, tokens, metrology, sealings and minor arts related to numismatics will also be considered for inclusion, as will book reviews. The Israel Numismatic Society is indebted to the Founders of Israel Numismatic Research without whose generosity the publication of the journal would not have been possible: David Hendin, Gil and Lisa Chaya, Stephen N. Gerson, Aba Neeman, Jonathan Rosen, Harlan J. Berk, Jay Galst, Gabriel Brener, Herbert L. Kreindler, Paul-Francis Jacquier and Ziv Zur. It is our intention that Israel Numismatic Research will offer an academic forum for both Israeli and foreign numismatists. Contributions of original research should be sent to: Israel Numismatic Research, c/o Haim Gitler, The Israel Museum, P.O. Box 71117, Jerusalem 91710 ISRAEL, or to the Editor (dtariel@ins.org.il). Guidelines for Contributors appear on page 177, followed by Abbreviations used in this volume. Donald T. Ariel Editor Israel Numismatic Research Haim Gitler President Israel Numismatic Society A Bronze Test Strike from the Bar Kokhba Revolt DAVID HENDIN dhendin@aol.com Abstract A rectangular piece of casually cut bronze, struck with a known die pair for undated Bar Kokhba denars, is thought to be the first known test strike from the Bar Kokhba Revolt. An explanation is proposed for the use of bronze rather than lead — the material of most other identified ancient test strikes. The striking on a piece of scrap bronze and not on a bronze flan suggests that during the revolt bronze and silver coins were struck at different mints, or at least during different cycles at the same mint. The die types of Bar Kokhba Revolt coins have been well-published by Mildenberg (1984) and supplemented by Kaufman (2000–2002). Since the Bar Kokhba coins were struck upon circulating bronze or silver coins, there are a number of odd results such as coins showing motifs from both the Bar Kokhba strike and the previous coin, coins struck upon unusually large or small host coins, denars (zuzim) struck upon foureé (silver plated) denars or drachms (Hendin 1980), and at least one tetradrachm (sela) struck upon a bronze flan for unknown reasons (Meshorer 2001:247, No. 232). Nothing in the published Bar Kokhba corpus, however, prepares one for the unusual object brought to the author’s attention by a private collector: Description Bar Kokhba, 132–135 CE, struck in the third year 134/5 CE. Fig. 1. Fig. 1. Obv. Eon / Ms within wreath, medallion at top; border of dots. Rev. MLs VRy TVRCL Upright palm branch with tip curled slightly to left; border of dots. Æ rectangle, #, 6.46 g, 21.9×16.4 mm, thickest part is 3.3 mm, thinnest is 2.6 mm near center of the longest dimension. The obverse is slightly convex and reverse slightly concave. All edges show evidence of having been chopped from a larger piece of flat bronze before striking. Same dies as Mildenberg 1984:205, No. 65 (O14, R37). INR 1 (2006): 111–115 111 112 DAVID HENDIN Condition The obverse of the coin is untreated. Microscopic examination using magnification between 5× and 35× reveals a compact and hard encrustation of earth on the obverse and the edges. This is consistent with similar encrustations found on many Bar Kokhba and other bronze coins from this period. The reverse of the coin had been cleaned mechanically prior to our inspection of it; microscopic study revealed the cleaning to have been somewhat crude, leaving not only scratches on portions of the immediate patina of the coin, but also imparting to the second waw a strange shape — although the letter is actually of the normal form. Authenticity and Dating Based upon the patina and other artifacts of corrosion and encrustation on the obverse and edges, and that which remained on the reverse after mechanical cleaning, there can be no doubt that the piece is ancient in origin. We have here a small bronze rectangle struck from a known and commonly used1 pair of dies for a silver coin of the Bar Kokhba mint. Since in other die sets this obverse die is also coupled with reverse dies dated to the second year of the Bar Kokhba Revolt, one can safely establish the first use of this die set early in the third year of the Bar Kokhba Revolt, after the cessation of use of the dies dated to the second year.2 There is so little deterioration in this particular obverse die, one may suggest that this object represents the very first instance in which it was used coupled with an undated reverse die.3 Because of our ability to place this die set near the beginning of the undated small silver coins of Bar Kokhba, we suggest the probability that this object was a test strike. It may have been created to establish that the new, undated die would “strike” well when paired with a die from the previous year, thus sparing the need for a fresh die to be put into use immediately. Mildenberg showed that this obverse die was eventually used to strike hundreds, if not thousands of undated coins as well as a number of those dated to the second year (Mildenberg 1984:203–216, Nos. 61–84). We identify the rectangular bronze Bar Kokhba object described above as a test piece, even though virtually all known ancient test strikes identified as such have been struck upon lead flans, and they are frequently, but not exclusively, 1 2 3 Mildenberg (1984:205, No. 65) described it as a large issue, of which he listed 29 specimens. Mildenberg (1984:201–203, Nos. 56–60) showed five die sets with dated “year 2” reverses and twenty-four die sets (203–216, Nos. 61–84) with undated reverses attributed to the final year of the Bar Kokhba Revolt. Mildenberg’s placement of this coin as the fifth die set (see n. 1 and 2 above), in the series of undated die pair using this obverse, was arbitrary, and one can find no reason that it should not have been the first. BRONZE TEST STRIKE FROM BAR KOKHBA REVOLT 113 uniface.4 The lead flans for test pieces are generally larger than the coin flan, and may often be square (Fischer-Bossert 2002:1).5 Test Strikes Based on the known test strikes from the ancient Greek world, one should ask why this Bar Kokhba test strike is made from a bronze fragment, and not lead. The logical answer is that the Bar Kokhba mint did not include a smelting and flanmanufacturing operation. Instead, all Bar Kokhba bronze and silver coins were struck upon previously circulating coins that had been especially prepared for restriking at the Bar Kokhba mint.6 Therefore, unlike other mints, which included materials and equipment for making flans, Bar Kokhba’s mint had no reason to store raw metal such as lead, an element common in bronze alloys. Given the nature of the Bar Kokhba practice of minting on local currencies, it is somewhat curious that a piece of ‘scrap’ bronze would be used instead of a bronze ‘blank’ that had been prepared for Bar Kokhba’s re-striking of a bronze coin. At this time the value of both bronze and silver coins was in the weight of the metal, so a bronze chunk would have had the same value as a blank bronze flan of the same weight. The use of the scrap bronze piece instead of a prepared flan suggests that bronze coins and silver coins were struck at different mint locations, or at least during different cycles at the Bar Kokhba mint.7 It is also worth noting that our Bar Kokhba bronze rectangle is struck with both obverse and reverse dies, and has a vertical die axis (12 o’clock). This seems to further confirm Mildenberg’s suggestion that the Bar Kokhba coins were struck from hinged dies.8 4 5 6 7 8 Houghton (1997:1) noted that “test pieces…remain among the least studied of numismatic artifacts.” He showed five examples of Seleucid test pieces, each of them struck in lead, two are uniface. In this article he illustrated and discussed 15 various Greek test strikes of lead; five of them are struck upon square flans. One of those, a striking of an obverse die of Antiochus VIII, repeats a piece previously published by Houghton (1997:5, No. 5). Also, of Fischer-Bossert’s 15 listed pieces, nine are uniface. The author wishes to thank Oliver Hoover for his gracious assistance in notation of this group. Mildenberg (1984:22–23) explained this process. Mildenberg (1984:48) showed that only one die, carrying a date of the first year, was used to strike both silver and bronze Bar Kokhba coins: “the first denarius die (Obv. 1) served for the first five die combinations out of a total of only 13 in the small bronze emission…” This suggests the possibility of a subsequent separation, by time or space, of the minting of silver and bronze coins for the duration of the Bar Kokhba Revolt. Furthermore, Barag (2000–2002:153–156) discusses several aspects of two Bar Kokhba mints and this test piece provides additional information. Mildenberg (1984:26) discussed the vertical die phenomenon and his theory that the Bar Kokhba coins were struck using hinged dies. 114 DAVID HENDIN The corpus of Bar Kokhba coins does not contain any similar objects. Meshorer published a chronologically close piece struck upon a square bronze flan at Aelia Capitolina under Antoninus Pius. The reverse depicts Tyche within a hexastyle temple (Meshorer 1989:72, No. 10). Meshorer suggested that the construction of that temple at Aelia Capitolina “seems to have been commemorated by striking an unusual square coin which is the only known square coin of the period. The specimen, kept in the Munich Numismatic Cabinet, is in excellent condition; it is patinated and there is no doubt regarding its authenticity; it is absolutely clear that the coin was struck deliberately on a square flan” (Meshorer 1989:25). It is of course possible that the piece Meshorer described was also intended as a test strike. However, the Aelia Capitolina square “coin” described by Meshorer is significantly more symmetrical and evenly struck than our Bar Kokhba piece, which was firmly and carefully struck, but on quite a “haphazard” piece of bronze that certainly did not result from sophisticated metalwork. Unlike Meshorer’s suggestion of a special function for the Aelia square “coin,” there is no logical or known reason for this Bar Kokhba object to be a commemorative coin or even official. Even though the Bar Kokhba administration was no doubt economically strapped by the third year of the revolt against Hadrian, there is no previous numismatic or historical evidence to suggest that such chunks of metal might be struck as coins, even emergency issues.9 Indeed, the opposite is true; to the end of its production, the principal Bar Kokhba mint maintained significant quality control. Even minor mint errors and coins struck dramatically off center are extremely rare. It is most unfortunate that the find spot of this object is not known. If it were, there would have been a very real chance that it could have led investigators to the actual site of the main Bar Kokhba mint.10 9 10 Fischer-Bossert (2002:1) observed “it is often difficult to determine whether pieces [carrying the imprints of two dies on a single flan] are testpieces or emergency strikings.” It is, of course, certainly possible that a mint worker kept this non-currency piece as a souvenir and thus it strayed far from the mint. Nevertheless, we have few enough clues as to the location of the Bar Kokhba mint, and even a small clue would have been welcome. BRONZE TEST STRIKE FROM BAR KOKHBA REVOLT 115 REFERENCES Barag D. 2000-2002. The Two Mints of the Bar Kokhba War. INJ 14:153–157. Fischer-Bossert W. 2002. A Lead Test-Piece of a Syracusan Tetradrachm by the Engravers Euth… and Eum…. NC 162:1–9. Hendin D. 1980. Plated Coins of Bar Kokhba. INJ 4:34–37. Houghton A. 1997. Some Seleucid Test Pieces. AJN 9:1–5. Kaufman J.C. 2000–2002. Additions to Leo Mildenberg’s Corpus of The Coinage of the Bar Kokhba War. INJ 14:129–152. Meshorer Y. 1989. The Coinage of Aelia Capitolina. Jerusalem. Mildenberg L. 1984. The Coinage of the Bar Kokhba War. (Typos 6). Aarau–Frankfurt am Main–Salzburg.