Detroit's Mayor Weighs in On Chief Oliver's Gun Troubles

From The Detroit Free Press

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick said Wednesday he supports his police chief who is embroiled in an incident involving a handgun, but is unsure what action he'll take if the top cop is charged with a crime.

"I think that the chief needs to have his integrity intact at the end of the day and he needs to make sure that he can lead this department," Kilpatrick said. "And a formal charge may cause some inability for him to do that, and that's what I'm afraid of."
.....
Kilpatrick said he doesn't think Oliver should be charged, but added, "I'm biased. I'm absolutely, 100 percent on the chief's side."

Hmm, Carrying an unregisterd gun (a crime in Michigan) into a secured airport area (a Federal violation for which he has been fined), without a concealed carry permit (a five year felony) and not as a certified Law Enforcement Officer and the Mayor is 100% on his side?

Everyone makes mistakes, but Chief Oliver should be held to the same standards and charges that any other civilian would face if they were caught carrying an unregisterd, concealed, firearm without a permit to carry in, of all places, an airport security checkpoint. Otherwise it will not be Chief Oliver's integrity, but the integrity of the whole justice system that will be in question in Wayne County.

Of course, if Chief Oliver gets a pass for these mistakes, one can only hope the Mayor will be 100% on the side of any Michigander and be as willing to preserve their integrity if they're caught carrying in a no carry zone. Otherwise, perhaps the first violation of Michigan's firearms laws should be a freebie for all?

Coin of The Week - A Prutah of The First Revolt

This is a bronze coin struck in the second year of the first Jewish Revolt against Rome, 67/68 CE (CE stands for Common Era, another way to say A.D.).

On the Obverse: An Amphora and the Words "Year 2" in paleo-Hebrew
On the Reverse: Vine Leaf and the Inscription "For the Freedom of Zion"

This coin is not only historic but also quite affordable. Amphora coins has it listed for sale for $225.00.

This coin is over 1935 years old and you can still read the inscription and own it for only $225.00. A testament both to the relative abundance of these coins and the wide range of affordable and interesting ancient coins that are in the marketplace today.

The First Rule of the Peace Process is You Don’t Talk About the Peace Process

Just when you thought the Middle East Peace (or is that Piece by Piece?) process couldn’t get any stranger, along comes a trio of Hollywood ‘heavyweights’, Danny DeVito, Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt to bring about peace in the region.

Chance of Success of the 'Let's Just Be Friends' tour? Lets just say it’ll take more than The Good Girl, The Renaissance Man and The Devil’s Own to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Now if Hollywood really wanted peace in the region they would have sent soon to be Governor Arnold Schwarzeneger:

Arnie- "Hey Arafat, remember when I said I’d kill you last?”
Arafat- "Yeah man - You did! You did!"
Arnie- "I lied."
Arafat- "Aaaaahhhh!" Thunk.

At least that would be a more productive step on the road to peace and would save far more lives.

Hat Tip for the Friends Tour: The Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiller

The Freep Encourages Politicians to Spin, Spin, Spin on Sprawl Issues

The Detroit Free Press, in the article LAND USE: Even the smartest policies need the right focus
states that the alternative to emphasizing lively urban by governmental fiat is “standing by idly as metropolitan areas spin farther and farther out like uncontrolled whirligigs.”

The Freep notes that a good slogan is needed to prevent sprawl in order to get Michiganders to accept curbs on sprawl as

the WSU survey also shows they can be influenced by how questions are framed. Imply that a land use strategy might mean fewer backyards, or less housing for young families, and interest nosedives.

Hence the need for a crops-are-tops type of simplicity about a key concept like preserving farmland, or a save-it-at-the-source phrase to stress the importance of steering construction away from crucial wetlands and river headwaters.

The governor's Land Use Leadership Council has laid out the steps, if not the slogans, to move the state ahead. Now the governor and legislative leaders need to keep up the drumbeat.

So the Freep in this editorial is encouraging politicians to beat the drum, and lie, and spin, and sugar-coat the idea of develomental restrictions and so called "smart growth". Don’t tell the truth about the new urbanism and its effects on housing costs and availability, on crime, traffic congestion or any other of the many drawbacks of this supposed urban utopianism, for verily the politicians and the Freep know best. Instead give the it a sweet-sounding, trite and simplistic slogan to deceive the public into accepting this "smartest" of policies and don’t let the downside be known until it is too late.

Unofficial Report on the DC Protests

The following report is from my friend who was on duty during the "Anti-War" demonstration on Saturday:

Well the protesters came, made noise, and most of them have left the city now. (We kept a few who excercised poor judgement.) They left behind a ton of litter, some graffiti, and negative impressions of the Left, but not much else.

First off, the group was a lot smaller than they'd claimed would be there. They stated beforehand that they'd have 40,000 to 50,000 people, and even their own counters now credit them with about 8,000. They did manage to stick more to the anti-war issue than at previous events, but they still have the "Free Mumia" crowd (Mumia-Abu-Jamal, to cop-murdering leftist darling still on death row in PA.) and a few other hangers-on. Most of the protest signs were professionally printed and issued to marchers by either A.N.S.W.E.R. or the Socialist Party. Those two groups appeared to be co-organizing the event, so that tells you where they're really coming from. The Dennis Kucinich supporters were out in force as well. None of the other Democratic Presidential candidates were represented there but there were tons of Kucinich signs and shirts. Kind of tells you where Kuchinich comes from too.

I was assigned to a Reaction squad, so I got to stand out on full riot gear in the hot-spot areas. I started out on the edge of Lafayette Park where the protest parade went by. It sure was nice of all of those "peace marchers" to let me know that I was "facist", a "Nazi" and a "pig". I was called those things several times, as were my contemporaries on the line. My photograph is probably going to be on every Communist Party website tomorrow based on the number of times they ran up to take my picture. I had a great spot where I was the only officer for 25 yards so I attracted more attention than those standing shoulder-to-shoulder a short distance away.

After the parade passed by, we moved down to Constitution Ave, where the parade was supposed to end. Several officers had to be detailled off to go deal with leftists who were threatening Free Republic counter-protesters, but I wasn't one of them. Instead I was part of a team sent to get between the leftists and a few religious counter-protesters who were preaching at the masses with a bullhorn. Of course the left wasn't about to let the religious speakers or the Free Republic speakers exercise THEIR First Amendment rights. They tried to overrun both groups and would have but for our presence. Then that sat there and jeered at us for protecting the people trying to speak. Let's see...a few minutes ago we were protecting YOUR right to speak and assemble, and we were pigs and facists, and now we're giving someone else the same protection and you're actually angry. Is the Left really that clueless about the rights everyone gets here? I guess they think that they're the only ones entitled to Constitutional protections.

All-in-all, the protest was pretty meek and mild. Per our Intelligence division, the big groups had warned their members in advance to behave as a result of their past encounters with Park and DC Police. The word's apparently out now not to get stupid here, and that's ok by me.

One final note about the message and the message-bearers...I couldn't help but notice that most of the attention was focused not on Iraq or our troops but only on excoriating President Bush. The lefties mainly used megaphones to shout obscenities about the President or carried signs cursing him. Very little attention was actually devoted to our troops overseas. Kind of interesting, as it was supposed to be an "anti-war" rally. I also noticed that 99% of the crowd appeared to be white. There were very few minorities there, suprising since the military has such a large number of minorities serving in it. Most protesters appeared to be college kids or college-age slackers, with a few senior citizens tossed in. I theorized afterwards that the entire batch of them probably could have dropped into a big hole in the street and America wouldn't even notice much less miss them. I saw very few people there who even gave the appearance of being productive adults. Also most of the protesters appeared to be angry. They weren't happy people. Now the Free Republic crowd, they were having a ball. Those folks were a laugh a minute according to the squad detailled over there. But the lefties were generally unhappy people and it showed. I guess it must suck to be a poor politically-marginalized white kid.

All in all, it's over, we're all home safe and I got paid pretty well for the day.

And here's a pic of a few of us in action.

Detroit Police Chief Caught With Unregistered Handgun at An Airport, Prosecutor's Office Having Trouble With Nonexistent Issue

The Detroit free Press Reports that Detroit Police Chief Oliver was caught going through Airport security with a concealed pistol in his bag. Carrying concealed in Michigan without a permit is a 5 year felony, but there is a question as to whether he as a police Chief but not yet as a certified Law Enforcement Officer may carry concealed without a permit.

However the pistol was not registered so it should be an easy charge and conviction for posession of an unregistered handgun, but

Prosecutor Michael Duggan and several assistants spent Wednesday afternoon trying to determine whether Oliver should face criminal charges because his personal .22-caliber handgun is not registered in Michigan.
Assistant Prosecutor Rebecca Tenorio, an office spokeswoman, said no decision had been made, but one could come this week.
Tenorio said an issue is whether Oliver was required to register the weapon in Michigan if he had registered it in another state when he purchased it.

There is no issue at all, MCL 28.429 Pistols; safety inspection required; certificate of inspection; exemptions; requirements of
pistol presented for inspection; violation as civil infraction; fine.
quite clearly states that:

Sec. 9. (1) A person within the state who owns or comes into possession of a pistol shall, if he or she resides in a city, township, or village having an organized police department, present the pistol for safety inspection to the
commissioner or chief of police of the city, township, or village police department or to a duly authorized deputy of the commissioner or chief of police. If that person resides in a part of the county not included within a city, township, or village having an organized police department, he or she shall present the pistol for safety inspection to the sheriff of the county or to a duly authorized deputy of the sheriff. If the person presenting the pistol is eligible to possess a pistol under section 2(1), a certificate of inspection shall be issued in triplicate on a form provided by the
director of the department of state police, containing the name, age, address, description, and signature of the person presenting the pistol for inspection, together with a full description of the pistol. The original of the certificate shall be delivered to the registrant. The duplicate of the certificate shall be mailed within 48 hours to the director of the department of state police and filed and indexed by the department and kept as a permanent official record. The triplicate of the certificate shall be retained and filed in the office of the sheriff, commissioner, or chief of police.
This section does not apply to a wholesale or retail dealer in firearms who regularly engages in the business of selling pistols at retail, or to a person who holds a collection of pistols kept solely for the purpose of display as
relics, curios, or antiques, and that are not made for modern ammunition or are permanently deactivated.


So it doesn’t look like the law is unclear at all about needing to register pistols in Michigan even if it may have been registered elsewhere, the Wayne County prosecutors office should know this and not need to delay due to a nonexistent issue. There is no provision exempting pistols registered in other states from having to be registered in Michigan. Since he didn’t register it, Chief Oliver has quite clearly violated this law, not to mention Federal Law concerning undeclared firearms in Airport areas.

Remember, if you or I had brought an undeclared, unregistered pistol into an airport in Michigan, we would be doing what is colloquially known around here as the “Detroit Macarena” (For those of you who don’t know, the Detroit Macarena starts with your hands either in the air or on the hood of a car; progresses to them behind your head; then behind your back; then the snick of handcuffs going on; and then ending with a flourish of you hopping into a police car) and I very much doubt there would be any "issue" about the charges that would be made.

Coin of the Week – Another Shekel

This Coin is a Shekel of Tyre, that was likely struck locally at Jerusalem in 4/3 B.C.E., and the image is from David Hendin's Amphora Coins site.

On the Obverse: Head of Heracles.
On the Reverse: Eagle standing, club in front, with the inscription in Greek "Of Tyre the Holy and Inviolable".

As noted at
Amphora Coins The silver shekels and half shekels Tyre were the only coins accepted for payment by Jews of the annual half-shekel tribute to the Jerusalem Temple. Meshorer [note- a famous and very knowledgeable Israeli Numismatist] believes that this issue, with "KP" behind the eagle, was struck in Jerusalem, as opposed to the earlier style coins struck in Tyre

This is a Shekel of great historical importance. This coin is also of a great deal of historic interest to collectors as the year of its striking, 4/3 B.C.E., is thought of by scholars to be the year of Jesus’ birth. The money changers in the Temple were likely changing other coins and goods into these shekels for the annual tribute. A very desirable and collectible coin indeed, especially as it was likely struck at Jerusalem rather than in Tyre itself.

Tyrian shekels are quite available on the market today with prices that vary depending on a variety of factors.

When your website is designed to criticize a company online, name your site companynamesucks.com

The Detroit Free Press reports in an article Canton woman caught in web of cyber justice, that a disgruntled customer published a disparaging website about a company and used that company’s name as the URL. The company apparently did not register its name as a trademark at the federal level, and the customer won at the District Court level. The company has appealed to the Sixth Circuit.

My Prediction: The Sixth Circuit will likely overrule the district court.

Had the customer named the site companynamesucks.com she likely would have won based on previous case law that free speech allows for critical or satirical websites and such names do not dilute trademarks(see Ford Motor Co v Enters, 177 F Supp 2d 661 (ED Mich 2001)).

Instead, she simply used the company name, and this likely will prove her undoing. In E. & J. Gallo Winery v Spider Webs, Ltd, 286 F3d 270 (5th Cir, 2002), Spider Webs registered the domain name ernestandjuliogallo.com and made it into a site that disparaged the wine maker. The court held that this violated the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, 15 USC 1125 (ACPA), as it was confusingly similar (in fact the same) as the trademarked name and it was in reality established for commercial reasons.

The ACPA declares that such an activity is improper. The act also prohibits the registration or use of a domain name that is the same or confusingly similar to a mark that was distinctive or famous at the time the name was registered.

The interplay between the fact that she did not create it for profit, and that the company name was apparently not registered federally, as well as the role that Michigan’s trademark and servicemark dilution laws may play in the case should make this an interesting cyber-case to watch.

Go Fish?

There's an active discussion at The Volokh Conspiracy on the Fish symbols that are on many people's cars.

A little web browsing led me to this site: Complete Fish Taxonomy Which shows there are far more schools of fish out there than one might have imagined, including the lawyer fish, which is of course, a Shark.

I myself own This One . I first saw it during a trip in Arizona and asked the driver of the car it was on where she got it from. The Gefilte Fish certainly does cause a few double-takes and often elicits an "I don't get it" response.

As far as offensive, a few of my friends, who are extrememly devout Christians, see nothing offensive about it, but their opinion is hardly a scientific sample.

Student who Beat TSA security charged in airplane incidents

From the Detroit Free Press
A college student who told authorities that he placed box cutters and other banned items aboard two airliners to test security was charged Monday with taking a dangerous weapon aboard an aircraft and was released without bail.

I think that one of the reasons he has been charged rather than just being released is that he rubbed the TSA's nose in the breach by sending an email beforehand stating that he was going to do it, and they still didn't catch him.

Note to all: Government Bureaucracies HATE to be embarrassed and shown to be incompetent, and when they have the ability to nail the person who pointed out the incompetence, they will nail the messenger.

While what the student did was dangerous in that others could have possibly accessed the items, he did perform a service by pointing out a potentially deadly flaw in the current security system that needs to be fixed.

Another Argument for a Free Market in Antiquities

I had written an email to Tyler Cowen of the Volokh Conspiracy supporting the position that there should be a free market in antiquities. His blogging of that email was the spark for the start of this site, so you can thank him or curse him as you prefer depending on how you like this blog.

I'm not the only one that believes that private collectors not only should be allowed to collect ancient artifacts but also that it is a benefit that they do so.

Wayne G. Sales, who regularly writes in the Celator , an excellent magazine for ancient coin collectors, has an excellent article, available online, that highlights the antipathy that the scholarly archeologist / keep everything in museums faction has against private collectors. Mr. Sales' article makes many of the same points I made in my email, and also points out the political machinations of the AIA, the Archaeological Institute of America.

Supply, Demand and Accusations of Gouging

The Detroit Free Press reports that Consumer Advocates and Detroit City Council members are accusing Parking lot owners of gouging and breaking a city ordinance by charging more for parking for Detroit Lions Games than for non-event days.

Can anyone say supply and demand?

Ok, we can debate the nature of the fans who demand to see Lions games but Ford Field IS a nice facility).

Parking during a non-event time is by nature less in demand and thus cheaper than during a high-demand event. Verily, it has been said that there is plentiful parking in the area at 2 a.m. that can even be found for free!

Why should Consumer Advocates be against this, after all doesn't it encourage people to car pool, or at least to be active consumers and shop around for parking? The article itself notes there were parking lots with rates between $15-$50 depending on how close to the stadium you parked. All consumers would need to do is simply not park in the $50 priced lot, and watch as the rates go down at the lot and then park there at the new price, but as long as people want the convenience of close parking to watch the Lions play, the price will stay up.

The ordinance itself, that ordains that a price must be approved and then remain the same for 60 consecutive days (ie if the price is $50 on Sunday, then every Sunday for 60 days apparently must be the same $50 according to how one council member interprets the law) flies in the face of basic economics, not to mention it will certainly have a damper on the development of more parking for downtown Detroit.

Sprawl Is Good.

John Hood of The Carolina Journal has an interesting look at the so called sprawl problem.

He notes the ‘new urbanism’, will likely cause increased crime coupled with the need for increased police resources to combat such crime.

Hood notes other benefits to sprawl:

Sprawl reduces traffic congestion by spreading out origins and destinations, creating various centers of employment and shopping, and generating sufficient highway capacity to accommodate the inevitable rise in auto commuting as societies become wealthier. Sprawl reduces the per-capita need for services overall, when you factor in functions such as law enforcement, and reduces the need to raise property-tax rates by generating more tax revenue per person (the only kind of residential growth that doesn't appear to "pay for itself" is low- to moderate-income multifamily housing). Sprawl reduces tailpipe emissions from automobiles by minimizing the time they spend idling in traffic jams or creeping along in central cities. Sprawl increases opportunities for homeownership among lower-income families by offering attractive new properties for those with rising incomes to purchase in the suburbs, thus moderating the prices of the existing housing stock closer into town, which would otherwise soar (as it has in Smart Growth enclaves such as college towns and the cities of the Pacific Northwest).

As here in Michigan there is currently much hand-wringing about sprawl, and the terrible cry of “do something!” is being heard in the Detroit-area media, it would likely behoove the newspaper editors and legislators to go read his entire column on the subject.

Al Qaeda mounts Dos attack, World Yawns.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

From blowing up the WTC and killing thousands, attacking the USS Cole, and bombing up embassies the best effort that they can muster now is to launch a DoS attack against the Hosting Matters site?

We must actually be on the way to winning the War on (Islamic) Terror.

While this attack was of course against a key strategic asset in the War on Terror, housing many bastions of anti-idiotarianism such as Internet Haganah and Little Green Footballs, these sites are back up and continuing their vital anti-idiotarian and terorist identification and taunting operations as we blog.


In other news, US Military units continue to kick Al-Qaeda ass the world over.

The Detroit News Gets it 50% Right but Notably Errs.

The Detroit News , in commenting on the attack that killed 3 Americans yesterday notes that "In intentionally targeting American diplomats for murder in the Gaza Strip Wednesday, the Palestinian terrorists may have finally sealed their fate." Gets it right as to what should happen, but incredibly in the side bar headlined "American victims" after it notes that 49 Americans have been killed but then it goes on to say that "Until now, the most notable American death was that of Rachel Corrie, an activist killed March 16 when she placed herself in front of an Israeli bulldozer destroying the home of a terrorist in Gaza.".

The "most notable" death? So, burning an American flag and then tripping and falling after playing chicken with a bulldozer is a notable death? When Corrie was trying to block that bulldozer from destroying smuggling tunnels from Egypt to Gaza, part of the tunnel system where the explosives that killed the three Americans yesterday likely came from, this makes her death the most notable?

What of all the Americans killed by terrorist bombs as they study, go to work or were traveling in Israel? So to die in an accident is notable, when you are killed by someone who did not intend to kill you is notable, but somehow the deaths of "Goldie Taubenfeld, 43, and her son Shmuel, 3 months, who were visiting from New Square, N.Y" and three other Americans on August 20, 2003 in a deliberate suicide bombing is somehow not notable? From: FreeRepublic.com.

Or perhaps the Americans killed in the deliberate Hebrew University bombing by Arab twereorists were not notable: "Janis Ruth Coulter, 36, of New York City; Benjamin Blutstein, 25, of Lancaster, Pa.; Marla Bennett, 24, of San Diego; David Gritz, 24, who holds dual American-French citizenship; and a fifth person with Israeli and American citizenship who has not been identified were all killed in the bomb blast" from: Newsmax .

So their deaths are not the most notable, only the death of Corrie in her deluded defense of terrorists is somehow the most notable. Maybe the Detroit News really does follow the old adage that "Dog Bites man" isn't news but "Man bites Dog" is news and thus more notable.

A Guide to Collecting Ancient Coins – Part 1

Collecting ancient coins can be: fun; an investment; done to satisfy your collecting urge; a tangible connection to history; a gateway to expanding your knowledge of the ancient world; a place to throw some of your disposable income; a great way to impress your friends and relatives; a source of personal satisfaction; a way to contribute to our understanding of the ancient world; and much more.

I will have a series of posts that reflect my opinions on how one can get started collecting/investing/possessing ancient coins.

My suggested first step is to browse around and see what fits your interest and budget. Go to various coin dealers’ web sites and look at the coins and prices. You don’t need thousands or even hundreds of dollars to start collecting. Many dealers offer auctions or fixed price lists where you can buy coins for a modest sum, especially if you do not decide to focus your collecting on the gold coins of the Twelve Caesars (more on them later). Try to see if the area you are interested in has coins that apeal to you and also fit your budget.

Also don’t forget your local coin dealers, they may have ancient coins and they will likely let you hold them and the local dealer is often an excellent starting point if they are knowledgeable about ancient coins.

Once you’ve browsed around and seen what the prices are like, you can decide what to collect. Some collectors prefer to collect a representative type series. For example, many collectors try to buy one coin of each of the Roman Emperors. Some prefer thematic collections, such as depictions of animals, buildings, or military items upon coins. Others prefer regional collections, and still others collect on an eclectic basis and buy whatever coins strike their fancy. There really is no wrong way to collect ancient coins, and you can collect and organize your collection as you see fit.

One note of warning: once you hold in your hand a shiny silver, bronze or gold coin that is over 1000 to 2000 years old, you may not only swell with the pride of ownership of this historic item, you might be found by others holding and staring at it while crooning…”yes, my precioussss, I have my precioussss, mine!”

The next post in this series will discuss grading and some essential coin books and resources.

Part 2 in this series can be found here.

Part 3 can be found here.

Michigan Democratic Primary Will Offer Internet Voting

From the Detroit News:
Online vote triggers worry
State Dems aim to spur caucus turnout; critics fear the digital divide
By Charlie Cain / Detroit News Lansing Bureau

LANSING -- Despite substantial criticism -- including fears of hackers and the silencing of minority voters -- Michigan Democratic leaders are holding to their plan to allow Internet voting in the Feb. 7 caucus that will select a presidential favorite.

The plan, which is being challenged by seven of the nine Democratic presidential hopefuls, would for the first time allow Michigan voters to use the Internet in a public election. . . .

It's understandable party operatives and candidates get nervous about primary elections, no matter the voting method. When it comes to primaries, Michigan voters have displayed a feisty independent streak.

In the Michigan 2000 Republican Primary, for instance, U.S. Sen. John McCain was the winner, despite the party establishment's solid embrace of George W. Bush.

In 1988, Jesse Jackson shocked the establishment by winning the Democratic primary. And in 1972, George Wallace won the state's Democratic primary amid strong suggestions that Republicans, who knew incumbent President Richard Nixon had the nomination sewn up, crossed over and voted for the controversial Wallace in the Democratic primary.


What the Article doesn't mention is that McCain winning the primary in 2000 was due to Democrats blatantly voting in droves at the Republican primary as Clinton had the "nomination sewn up".

Of course, what goes around, comes around and it looks like Republicans will cross over and vote in the Democratic primary this year...Republicans for Sharpton or Kucinich anyone?

The First Post to the Shekel

Greetings and welcome to my Weblog. As the Title of this Blog states, this site will blog about Coins, the Law and Commentary. I hope you'll find this blog to be both informative and opinionated. There doesn't seem to be any blog that covers the field of numismatics in the bloggosphere yet, so perhaps this will fill a niche.

It is fitting that this, the inaugural post to my Weblog, The Shekel, is about the coin that is the namesake of this blog, The Shekel of the First Jewish Revolt Against Rome.

The Coin pictured above is a silver shekel dated Year One of the Revolt, which was AD 66/67. The Inscription upon the coin is in paleo-Hebrew.

On the Obverse: Cup with the inscription "Shekel of Israel" and an Aleph for Year 1

On the Reverse: Pomegranite with the inscription "Jerusalem The Holy".

The Coin has great historical significance. In AD 66, the Jews revolted against their Roman rulers and declared their independence. The revolt was eventually crushed after five years. The last resisting Jews held out at Masada until they committed suicide rather than being conquered and enslaved by Rome. The Second Jewish Temple was destroyed in this war.

The Picture of the Shekel is from David Hendin's site, Amphora Coins. I encourage you to visit his site to view his wide array of ancient coins and antiquities he has for sale. Mr. Hendin has also written one of the definitive books on Ancient Jewish Coins, and his work is a "must have" for any collector in this area, and also a great read for those interested in history.