MORE ON THE 1958 JUDAEA LIBERATA MEDAL

I enjoyed the excellent description and explanation of the 1958 Judaea Liberata medal by Llewelyn Morgan of Brasenose College, Oxford in The E-Sylum of July 9. However, one detail was overlooked by the person who translated the Hebrew inscriptions.

About the modern side of the medal the author correctly explains that "the inscription, which uses Latin to answer the Latin of the Roman coin, ISRAEL LIBERATA, “Israel having-been-freed,” and in Hebrew (again, I am reliably informed) reads “Ten years for the freedom of Israel”, [is] followed by a date in the Jewish calendar corresponding to 1958."

About the inscription on the ancient side of the medal the explanation is that "the Hebrew at the bottom reads (my informants tell me), “Judea went into exile.”" The author's informants did not pay attention to the Hebrew characters following those words. These characters are the date in the Jewish calendar corresponding to 70 CE.

The date on the modern side is 718, short for 5718 (corresponding to 1958 CE). The date on the ancient side 830, short for 3830 (corresponding to 70 CE, the year in which the Second Temple was destroyed). In Hebrew dates the thousands are usually omitted, the exception being the Israeli coins issued from 1981 onwards.

To read the complete article, see:
THE 1958 JUDAEA LIBERATA MEDAL (http://www.coinbooks.org/v20/esylum_v20n28a26.html)

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