Bar Kochba Revolt Coinage - Alternative Attributions

Alternative Attributions

The first group of these coins reviewed by numismatists were 10 silver pieces and one bronze piece found in the mid-nineteenth century. By 1881 the number of coins had grown to 43, and many more have been found since. These coins were first attributed to Bar Kokhba by Moritz Abraham Levy in 1862 and Frederic Madden in 1864.

Since the mid-nineteenth century, a number of scholars have provided alternative attributions for the coins. Claude Reignier Conder, writing in 1909, suggested that the coins were forgeries of the coins of Simon Thassi. Wolf Wirgin, writing in 1959, suggested that the coins were instead minted by King Herod Agrippa Alice Muehsam, writing in 1966, suggested that those coins with dates such as "Year 1" were actually First Jewish Revolt coinage.