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This is a 5 Agorot coin bearing a copy of a coin from the 4th year of the Great Revolt (70AD) that pictures the 4 Minim:

enter image description here

I can spot two oddities relative to what's commonly accepted: there are two Etrogim and Hadasim are full of berries.

Why is it so?

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  • I don't know why they chose that coin to copy. Maybe they used myrtle branches with the berries then--sure looks like it. Bar Kochba's four species look more accurate to our modern eyes-no berries and one etrog.
    – Gary
    Commented Oct 15, 2019 at 2:09
  • Maybe berries were a sign of fruitfulness-even the letters seem to have them. And they put one on the bottom of each etrog, just for good measure.
    – Gary
    Commented Oct 15, 2019 at 2:17
  • How do you know the little balls are hadas berries and not dates?
    – WAF
    Commented Oct 15, 2019 at 19:09
  • @WAF I don't. Since the common opinion is that the coin pictures the 4 minim and not something else, the balls belong seemingly to Hadas. Feel free to offer your explanation.
    – Al Berko
    Commented Oct 15, 2019 at 19:12
  • Isn't it ok if there are some berries as long as it's mostly leaves?
    – Heshy
    Commented Oct 16, 2019 at 0:43

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In the context of the other coins minted during the revolt and siege of the 1st century, it is not surprising that the depiction of the species is less photographic of "full sets" and more representative of the mitzva and of the holiday. The symbol may have been an act of rebellion in itself, bringing distinctly Jewish practice, whose restoration they were trying to achieve, to the fore. This would be in keeping with the Jewish patriotic slogans adorning these same coins.

For other examples of the symbolic 4 species images on these coins, see this survey of the coins of that period and their meanings, particularly

  • 2 lulavim (bundles?) and an esrog (p. 130)
  • a palm tree (p. 130)
  • 2 lulavim (bundles?) alone (p. 130)
  • a lone esrog (p. 130)
  • a lulav bundle and an esrog (p. 134)
  • a lulav (bundle?) and 2 esrogim (p. 136)
  • a lulav bundle and and esrog (p. 138)
  • a lone lulav (p. 138)
  • a nisuch hamayim jug and arava (p. 139)
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  • Very impressive and informative. Thank you.
    – Al Berko
    Commented Oct 15, 2019 at 19:18

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