Sheqel Year 1, Prototype

The Year 1 sheqel marks the opening of the Jewish revolt against Rome — these coins were struck by the rebel administration in Jerusalem as a deliberate assertion of independence, with the Hebrew dating itself a political act in a province where Roman imperial coinage had long dominated. The use of ancient Hebrew script, already archaic by the first century CE, was a conscious reach back to the Hasmonean period.

Prototype specimens predate the regular issue and show minor die differences consistent with initial trial production. Hendin distinguishes this variety at 1352 precisely because of those early characteristics.