A silver denarius (‘Zuz’), Bar Kokhba Revolt. Obv.: Paleo-Hebrew inscription
(Shimon) in wreath. The letters Vav (
) and Nun (
) were changed. Rev: Flagon with handle and palm branch (‘lulav’) on right, surrounded by the inscription
(for the freedom of Jerusalem).132/5 3.22 grams, 20 mm, axis 11. Cf. Ya’akov Meshorer, A Treasury of Jewish Coins (New York 2001), pl. 70, no. 283 The Bar Kokhba Revolt (132-135 CE) used similar symbols and inscriptions to the First Revolt. It broke out some seventy years after the destruction of the Second Temple and fifteen years after a Jewish revolt in the diaspora. The tragic consequences of the Revolt led to a pun on the name Bar Kokhba, Bar Cosiba, “son of the lie”. Bar-Kokhba coins were struck on Roman coins.