Antioch Ram Coin at the start of the First Jewish Revolt, 65-66AD
This coin was minted in 65-66 AD in Antioch prior to the First Jewish Revolt with Rome. The reverse shows a double date, 55AD-65 AD. I suspect this is some sort of solar eclipse commemorative coin. The prior posts display the solar eclipse events in Antioch in the 50's. A solar eclipse in Antioch did occur in 64 AD but was bearly visible and far to the north. Cartwright has done extensive research and has listed the mintage dates of the coins with the above motif. There appears to be a clear correlation with the mintage numbers and events in Judea. They are present with the following events which had a strong chance of Jewish rebellion.
1. The initial Roman take over of Judea as a province in 6 AD with Antioch as the governing capital.
2. The decline of Augustus with the transition to Tiberius between 11-14 AD.
3. The decline of Jewish-Roman relations in the late 40's and 50's
4. The above coin is very rare but clearly shows it was minted prior to the First Jewish Revolt.
5. The above motif is essentially lost until Hadrian reissues it prior to the Bar Kochba Revolt. Note the Kitos War was a Jewish revolt outside of Israel which may explain why the coin is not present until the beginning of the Bar Kochba Revolt. The Ram represents Israel.
6. The issues with the above motif continued after the Bar Kochba Revolt until Commodus. Note the Jewish population in Galilee did not rebel during Bar Kochba and continued to thrive during the Roman period. The cities of Sepphoris and Tiberius were intially constructed with the help of Jesus Christ. It is highly unlikely Jesus was travelling the world prior to His public ministry. He came initially for the children of Israel. He was a carpenter who knew the future. He worked as we do for our children. His time was spent before His public ministry building the Jewish Roman cities of Sepphoris and Tiberius. He created a home for His people that continued to shelter them after the horrors of the second Jewish Revolt.
The terror of a solar eclipse and that of Roman warfare were intertwined with these symbols. The legionary standard bearer would be dressed in animal skins and carry a "signum" indicating that Roman warfare was driven by primal nature and forces. Hollywood has deceived modern society into believing Roman warfare is conducted like 18th century British warfare. Think of Roman wars like organized Native American tribal warfare, filled with superstition and highly dependent upon the perception the "gods" favored them.
Below is a link to the Cartwright collection website. I am very grateful to the work he has done to date and categorize these exceptional coins. We disagree as to the interpretation.
Photo Beast Coins, http://beastcoins.com/Collections/Star-Of-Bethlehem/Star-Of-Bethlehem.htm
