The coin discussed in Matthew 22:20-21 is called a penny because the
King James version of the Bible says, "Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it." My understanding is that the original Greek said δηναρίου (
denarius). The Greek δηναρίου was translated as penny because at the time of translation (1604 -1611) the penny was the silver coin in circulation closest to the size of a
denarius.
Most modern translations say
denarius, but "
Tribute Penny" has stuck as the nickname for
Tiberius denarii.
Augustus denarii can be called the alternate
Tribute Penny because they are also
denarii that existed at the time of Jesus.
The circulation of
denarii in Jerusalem at the time may be interesting but is not really important to the designation of the
Tribute Penny. There is only ONE
denarius in the story, not
hoards of circulating
denarii. I have received
Tiberius denarii said to have been found in the region. If Jesus could turn water into wine, heal lepers and raise the dead, he could arrange for ONE
denarius to be nearby when he asked to see one.
You can argue that Matthew named the wrong coin but that does not really matter. The designation as
Tribute Penny relates to the story as told in the
King James Bible. The designation as a penny
comes from the
King James Bible. The Greek translated said
denarius. The
Tribute Penny must be a
denarius.
On the other hand...
The Gospel of
Thomas 100:1-4 (excluded from the New Testament) tells a slightly different version of the "
Tribute Penny" story..."They showed Jesus a gold [coin] and said to him:
Caesar’s agents demand taxes from us. He said to them: Give to
Caesar what belongs to
Caesar; give to God what belongs to God, and give to me what is mine." The
Tiberius aureus is thus the "Gold
Tribute Penny." The Gospel of
Thomas is apocryphal but it is
still interesting and
good marketing.