Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2021 October 25

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October 25

Ancient shekel Palaeo-Hebrew

Can anyone decipher the palaeo-Hebrew script on this shekel? File:Shekel_-_Coins_of_Second_Temple_period.jpg. It doesn't seem to be anything obvious like "shekel", "Israel", "Jerusalem", or "Yehud". If I try to read counterclockwise from the bottom (like File:Barkokhba-silver-tetradrachm.jpg for example) it looks like "L-G-T-L T-Sh-I-Sh-N", with some of the letters oriented oddly, and that doesn't mean anything to me. --Amble (talk) 20:55, 25 October 2021 (UTC)

Are you reading with the bottom of the letters towards the middle of the coin, or towards the edge? If the former, try the latter (or vice versa). {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.200.65.29 (talk) 17:28, 26 October 2021 (UTC)

I have tried both, but I expect the bottoms of the letters to be toward the center of the coin, as in the example of the Bar Kokhba coin that I linked above. --Amble (talk) 17:44, 26 October 2021 (UTC)

The quality of the picture is not very good, unfortunately, but I found this other coin that appears to have the same inscription: לגאלת ציון ("for the redemption of Zion"). - Lindert (talk) 21:12, 26 October 2021 (UTC)

Wow, thank you, that's it! --Amble (talk) 21:23, 26 October 2021 (UTC)

Here's another coin that looks very similar to the one in our photo: [1]. And another File:Masada_coin.jpg similar one that's used in the article First Jewish Revolt coinage. And finally an article in Haaretz about exactly this legend on coins! [2] --Amble (talk) 21:36, 26 October 2021 (UTC)