Bar Kochba Roman Judea 133/134 CE Large Bronze Coin - Ancient Coin - Bar Kochba Revolt - Roman Coin

The 24-26mm. bronzes of Bar Kochba picture a grape vine leaf and 7-branched palm tree. The seven branches of the palm tree could well allude to the holy 7-branched Temple Menorah, that was considered too holy to depict on coins (with the isolated exception of the small bronze Menorah coin issued in the last desperate days of the reign of Antigonus Mattathias). Bar Kochba’s given name appears on the palm tree side either in full with his title: Shim’on the Prince of Israel, or without the title: Shim’on, or shortened as Shim’.

The Bar Kokhba revolt (Hebrew: מֶרֶד בַּר כּוֹכְבָא Mereḏ Bar Kōḵḇāʾ) was a large-scale armed rebellion initiated by the Jews of Judea, led by Simon bar Kokhba, against the Roman Empire in 132 CE. Lasting until 135 or early 136, it was the third and final escalation of the Jewish–Roman wars. Like the First Jewish–Roman War and the Second Jewish–Roman War, the Bar Kokhba revolt resulted in a total Jewish defeat; Bar Kokhba himself was killed by Roman troops at Betar in 135 and the Jewish rebels who remained after his death were all killed or enslaved within the next year.