The Numismatic Branch of the IAA
The Numismatic Branch of the Israel Antiquities Authority is an inseparable part of the Department of the State’s Treasures, which is entrusted with receiving and safeguarding the antiquities in the country.
In addition to its curatorial duties, the Numismatic Branch is engaged in the identification and scientific publication of coins that were discovered in the different archaeological excavations.
The collection numbers approximately 140,000 coins, representing a period of c. 2,300 years, from the time of the invention of the coin in the sixth century BCE, until the seventeenth century CE.
Most of the coins kept in the collection of the Numismatic Branch are isolated finds that were recovered from archaeological excavations. There are also more than 150 hoards of gold, silver and bronze coins dating from the Persian to the Ottoman periods. The uniqueness of the collection lies in the fact that the provenance of most of the coins is known, in contrast with those that are in the collections of other institutions and museums. This situation establishes the coin collection of the Israel Antiquities Authority as one of the largest and most credible data banks in the world, and a special scientific resource for scholars dealing in the distribution and circulation patterns of coins in our region.
A coin dating to the Big Revolt
It is a great honor for us to organize the numismatic exhibition in the president’s residence. Choosing the subject of the exhibition was not difficult owing to the immediate connection that is so obvious between the presidential institution and the symbols of sovereignty that appear on the Jewish coins.
Since its invention the coin has fulfilled an important function of conveying political messages and portraying government symbols. Unlike in our age of electronic communication today, during antiquity, coins were used as the principal means for disseminating the image of the ruler and commemorating military victories and campaigns of conquest, such as on the coin of the Emperor Hadrian in front of us, which was struck in honor of the emperor’s visit to Judea.
In the Land of Israel the authority responsible for minting coins found the way to communicate political messages on its coins; that was done by depicting symbols, inscriptions and sometimes even the images of the rulers themselves.
The coins shown in the display case on the left portray governmental symbols that appear on Jewish coins over the course of c. 400 years, beginning with the minting of coins in the Persian period and until the end of the Bar Kokhba uprising.
The finds can be divided into four main subjects related to the iconography of Jewish art:
- The most explicit expression is the image of the ruler, despite the general abstention of depicting human images and it being proscribed by the second commandment. The use of the ruler’s image on Jewish coins is rare and can be summed up in only a few instances during the Herodian dynasty: Phillipus the son of Herod, his grandson Agrippa I and his great-grandson Agrippa II.
- Wreaths and diadems also serve both as a victory symbol and as a symbol of authority. They are used to adorn the heads of kings and gods and appear on Jewish coins as the principal symbol that surrounds the inscription.
- Various accessories used to portray power and government such as the royal canopy which is found on a coin of Agrippa I; the staff of the high priest adorned with pomegranates on the coins of the Great Revolt; and the rosette, as a symbol of Judea, which appears on the earliest coins that were discovered in Jerusalem.
- Different titles for rulers on inscriptions express an unequivocal symbol of the functions of government from the Second Temple period until the Bar Kokhba uprising. The inscriptions are written in ancient Hebrew, which was used during the First Temple period; in the Second Temple period we mainly find it in the Dead Sea Scrolls and on coins. Three different titles appear on the Hasmonean coins: the high priest, hever of the Jews (or head of the hever of the Jews), with which they are probably referring to the Sanhedrin. The title king, which also occurs in Greek [BACIΛEWC], appears on the coins of Alexander Jannaeus and Mattityah Antigonus. On the coins from the Bar Kokhba period the title prince of Israel appears, which is directly connected with the residence in which we are today assembled.
The numismatic exhibition at the president’s residence.
In the display case to the right we have on exhibit for the first time an especially rare find under the caption of “irrefutable proof”. This is a hoard of bronze coins that was stashed away toward the end of the Great Revolt in 70 CE, at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. The coins were discovered in two clusters beneath the ruins of a street in the archaeological excavations that were directed by Professor Benjamin Mazar next to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Most of the coins were minted in the year four of the Great Revolt, which is 69/70 CE. These coins, referred to as “siege coins”, exhibit an assortment of symbols related to the Sukkoth holiday accompanied by the inscription “to the redemption of Zion” .
The significance in displaying these coins does not lie in their beauty or quality because they are for the most part poorly preserved; rather this is chilling evidence of the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans. The metal, which was blackened with soot and bubbled when the bronze coins melted, is confirmation of an intense conflagration which the coins were exposed to.
Together with the clusters of bronze coins we have on display here a rare silver shekel from the year five of the Great Revolt (70 CE) that was discovered in the excavations at Masada.
Preparing a numismatic exhibition is a difficult task to perform, but by the same token it is also a challenging one. The tiny size of the coins in general and sometimes, as is the case before us, their preservation makes it difficult to display the items to the general public. Nevertheless, the importance of illustrating our history and cultural heritage justifies the effort required in presenting them. The enlarged colored photographs and drawings alongside the objects themselves are an essential aid in exhibiting the coins.
In conclusion, I wish to thank a number of people who greatly contributed to this project: to Pnina Arad for the wonderful drawings; to Clara Amit for the photographs of the coins and Yael Barshak of the photography archive of the Antiquities Authority; to Fawzi Ibrahim for the translation of the text to Arabic; to Rina Avner of the Jerusalem Regional District and Lily Gershuny of the Publication Department. I also wish to express my gratitude to my colleague Donald Ariel, head of the Numismatic Branch of the Antiquities Authority, who conceived the idea together with me and wrote some of the text. I especially wish to thank the Avidani Studio for designing the presentation and for their wonderful cooperation with the Antiquities Authority.
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