Hendin's interest in ancient Jewish and Biblical coins began in 1967 during a year-long stint as a biology teacher at an agricultural high school near the Israeli town of Ashkelon.
In 1985 and 1986, Hendin returned to Israel as the chief numismatist of the Joint Sepphoris Project excavations under the auspices of Duke University (Eric and Carol Meyers) and Hebrew University (Ehud Netzer).