עיון מחודש במטבעות שנטבעו בגמלא בימי המרד הגדול

• Published in: ארץ-ישראל: מחקרים בידיעת הארץ ועתיקותיה 2016-01, Vol.לב, p.176-182
• Format: Article
• Language: Hebrew
• ISSN: 0071-108X

This article offers a Hebrew version of recent papers that reexamined the unique coin type minted in Gamla and adds two new specimens, bringing the total to eleven. The legend on the coin obverse is believed now to spell out the name of the town: Gamla, with the addition of the letter ב, implying either that the coin was minted in Gamla, or in year two of the revolt. However, a fresh look at the reverse legend by paleographers, failed to confirm the original reading of “Holy Jerusalem” and a final reading must await new discoveries. There is consensus now that all coins were minted using one obverse die and two reverse dies. The coin blanks were apparently produced locally and the crude and soft dies were recut at some point. The dies were free (as opposed to linked), as indicated by the varying axes of the coins. Assessing the possible time when the coins were minted, the authors agree that this is more likely to have happened during the blockade of Agrippa II and not during the final siege of Vespasian. However, based on the small number of specimens among the 6,500 coins recovered at Gamla, they reject a suggestion that the coins were minted out of economic considerations; rather, they were a propaganda effort by the town leaders.