‘Free Zion’ coin minted 1,967 years ago unveiled

HERB KEINON

“The liberation of Jerusalem changed the city fundamentally.”

‘Free Zion’ coin minted 1,967 years ago. Photo By: CULTURE AND SPORT MINISTRY

Long before the “Free Palestine’slogan became popular – in fact about 1,967 years before – a “‘Freedom of Zion” coin was minted and circulated in Jerusalem.

Culture and Sport Minister Miri Regev unveiled that coin at Sunday’s cabinet as part of a presentation she gave about preparations for next year’s celebration of 50 years since the reunification of Jerusalem. The coin was uncovered during an excavation about a month ago of a recently uncovered road in Jerusalem. The excavation site will be opened to the public during Hanukka.

The ancient coin was one of a series minted during the Jewish revolt against the Romans that eventually led to the destruction of the Second Temple in 70. The flip-side of the coin bears the inscription, “Two years to the Great Revolt,” which dates it to the year 67.

“Exactly 1,900 years later, in 1967, the paratroopers entered Jerusalem’s Old City and renewed its freedom, and ours,” Regev said. “We restored Jewish sovereignty to Jerusalem. We threw into the dustbin of history the coin issued by Titus after his victory over the rebels: Judea Capta [Judea Captive].”

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