Apart from the two remarkable pieces offered in this auction, the following one of only two known surviving silver quarter-shekels of Year 1 (May 66-March 67 AD), brought $896,250.
Jewish War (66 – 70 AD). AR quarter-shekel (16mm, 3.13 gm, 9h). Year 1. LkSU CBR (quarter of a shekel); A ([year] 1) above ritual chalice with smooth, wide rim, pellet on either side, the base has pearled ends / US¿k M>Säry (Jerusalem [the] holy); staff with three pomegranate buds, round base. Hendin 1356 (this coin). TJC 186 (this coin). AJC II 260,7 (this coin). Samuels 83 (this coin). One of two known. Choice Very Fine.
Ex. Superior Galleries 12-5-1991 (Bromberg I), 62.
This is the better of two known examples of a quarter-shekel struck during the first year of the Jewish War, 66/67 AD. (The second example, which has a repaired hole, is shown in AJC and TJC, and is located in a private collection in Israel.) Its existence suggests that the original plan was for the rebel Jewish mint in Jerusalem to issue three denominations of silver coins-shekels, half-shekels and quarter-shekels. Possibly because of the difficult circumstances, the quarter shekels were never struck in significant numbers. During the siege of the fourth year of the war (69/70 AD), silver quarter-shekels were once again struck in extremely small numbers (3-4 known example) and, additionally, fiduciary siege money bronze quarter-shekels were also struck.
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