The Bar Kochba Coin from Clay City Kentucky

Recently I wrote that serious academic scholars base much of their theories on the physical evidence found in the field. I asked how can they be sure that these findings are not FORGERIES? Today I followed a story I read on Rabbi W. Gunther Plaut's book "The Magen David: How the Six-Pointed Star Became an Emblem for the Jewish" and found an interesting answer for my question.

Rabbi W. Gunther Plaut developed a whole argument around the story of Robert Cox who found in 1952 a Bar Kochba coin in a pigs' pen. Plaut said that since Bar Kochba's revolt failed there's no reason to think that the spreading of the Star of David started in his period. Anyhow Israeli coin expert Yaakov Meshorer identified the Bar Kochba coin as a forgery from the beginning of the 20th century.

One side of this coin shows the Star of David above the Second Temple and the name Simon in Old Hebrew letters. On the other side there's a lulav and an ethrog and the words "Year 2 of the Freedom of Israel".

In his survey of "Pre-Columbian Old World Coins in America" Jeremiah F. Epstein devoted almost a page to the Kentucky Bar Kochba coins. This seems to me like a waste of good energy – why include it in the book if it is forged? This only adds fuel to the debate about the possibility that Solomon's fleet arrived to America…

Similar coins were found in 1922 near the Missouri/Arkansas state line; in 1932 in Louisville, Kentucky; in 1967 in Hopkinsville, Kentucky; and in Alcolu, South Carolina. This last mentioned coin was also identified by Meshorer as a forgery.

Town Emblem Stamps

M. & G. Shamir designed two series of town emblem stamps. The first series was issued between March 24, 1965 and Feb. 8, 1967 and the second series was issued between July 9, 1969 and Oct. 18, 1970. Among the stamps there is the emblem of
Tel Aviv designed by Nahum Gutman with the seven small stars that Theodor Herzl's planned for a seven-hour workday next to a large Magen David
Ashkelon's emblem with 5 Stars of David that stand for the 5 quarters of the town;
Herzeliya emblem with Theodor Herzl's seven Stars of David.

Picture of Tel Aviv emblem stamp is courtesy of Dobush.

Theodor Herzl Window Design

Star of David hovers over Theodor Herzl - stained glass window by Ephraim Moshe Lilien in "Bney brith" club in Hamburg, November 1904 . Title:"Moses"

It seems that because of his prominent role in the history of the Star of David Theodor Herzl and the Star of David tend to appear together, like twin brothers. 

Source: Wikimedia

Star of David hovers over Rabbi Hillel

Stained glass window by Ephraim Moshe Lilien in "Bney brith" club in Hamburg, November 1904 .

Theodor Herzl's tombstone

Picture is courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
There are a lot of Stars of David on Theodore Herzl's tombstone. He was buried in Vienna on the 7 July 1904, next to his father. Die Welt reported that six thousand people came to the funeral from all over the world.
BTW if one sums the digits of the day and month of his funeral [7 July (7th month)] it equals14 which is the sum of the digits in the Hebrew letters of David and the same goes for the sum of the digits of the year 1904. Experts on numerology will probably understand what this means. For me it's just an association that Theodore Herzl was a Shield (of David) that protected the Jewish People from its numerous enemies.
Stars of David surrounded Herzl at least since June 4 1897 when he published the first issue of Die Welt.

WWII Normandy American Cemetery

Star of David Picture from WWII American Cemetery in Normandy  is courtesy of "tmmiller' from Flickr.

The graves of soldiers of Jewish faith were marked with the Star of David

The Star of David is a Star

As I already mentioned earlier there are many synonyms for the term Star of David and the most elementary one is that it is a certain star in the Sky.
That's how Benjamin Disraeli used it in his historical romance Alroy:
As I gazed upon the Star of David, a sudden halo rose around its rays, and ever and anon a meteor shot from out the silver veil.
When I read Disraeli's book I was looking for a detailed description of David Alroy's Shield, but instead I came up with the above mentioned excerpt..
To this simple interpretation we may add Rashi and Iben Ezra's comment that Bilam's prediction
["There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel" (Numbers 24:17)] is about King David. Maybe this is the source of the questionable translation of the Hebrew words Magen (Shield) David into the English words Star of David.

Krakov Ghetto Gate

magen David over Krakov Ghetto Gate