Khan Academy: Silver Shekel 2nd Jewish Revolt, Struck Over a Denarius of Hadrian

This silver coin shows how, in an act of defiance against Roman rule, the Jewish population in the province of Judaea over-struck portraits of the Emperor Hadrian with their own symbols. Jerusalem had been destroyed by Roman forces in 70 C.E. and the Roman authorities prevented the Jews from rebuilding their temple, which was the focal point of their religious and cultural identity. Moreover, Hadrian decided to re-found Jerusalem as a Roman colony named Aelia Capitolina.