A bronze prutah, the second year of the Jewish War against Rome

A bronze prutah, the second year of the Jewish War against Rome
Obv.: Amphora (wine vessel) with wide rim, fluted belly and two handles, and Paleo-Hebrew inscription  (year two). Rev.: Vine leaf with small branch and tendril, surrounded by the inscription    (freedom of Zion). 67/8 C.E. 2.25 grams, 17 mm, axis 12. Cf. Ya'akov Meshorer, A Treasury of Jewish Coins (New York 2001), pl. 62, no. 196a. The Great Revolt, 66-70 CE and also called the Jewish War against the Romans, is remembered in Jewish history for its disastrous consequences, among them widespread physical destruction, killing of hundreds of thousands of Jews culminating in the obliteration of the Second Temple. In the course of the war the Jewish rebels struck coins in silver and bronze as an act of defiance against Rome, since the right to strike coins signified a measure of autonomy. The inscriptions on the coins served as slogans in favour of the uprising, for the Jewish population among whom they circulated, inscriptions such as 'for the freedom or redemption of Zion' The shekels and half shekels were coins that could be given as the annual half shekel tax to the Temple. The symbols are largely agricultural produce of the land and vessels used in the Temple service.