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(0355) JULIAN II THE APOSTATE (as Caesar)Julian II as Caesar
Caesar: 355 –360
Augustus: 360 -- 361.
Sole Augustus: 361 –363
struck 355 - 360 AD (Officina 2)
AE 17.5 mm; 2.33 g
Obv.: FL CL IVLIANVS NOB C / M , his bare-headed, draped and cuirassed bust facing right
Rev.: FEL TEMP - REPARATIO helmeted soldier standing l., spearing fallen horseman; horseman, wearing pointed hat, leaning l. on horse, turned r. and raising hand, shield on ground r.; MSLG in exe.
Lugdunum (Lyon) mint
RIC VIII, 191, 200 (R) ; Bastien 248 (3 ex) ; nummus-bible-database.com: only 1 piece, also from officina 2. Rarelaney

021. Tiberius.Denarius, ca 16 - 37 AD, Lugdunum mint.
Obverse: TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVSTVS / Laureate bust of Tiberius.
Reverse: PONTIF MAXIM / Livia seated, as Pax, holding branch and sceptre.
3.56 gm., 18 mm.
RIC #3; Sear #1763.

Because this is the denarius that was in circulation at the time of Jesus, this coin is often called the "Tribute Penny" -- a name which is derived from the Authorized (King James) Version of the Bible where the word denarius was translated as penny.Callimachus

03 02 Tiberius RIC 30Tiberius. 14-37 A.D. AR Denarius. Lugdunum (Lyon) Mint. 3.78 g., 19 mm. Obv: TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVSTVS, laureate head right. Rev: PONTIF MAXIM, Livia as Pax, seated right, holding scepter and olive branch. Feet on footstool. Ornate chair legs. One line below throne. RIC I 30, RSC 16a.

The well known "tribute penny." When brought a coin as requested, Jesus asked, "Whose is this image and superscription?" When told it was Caesar, He said, ''Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's" (Matthew 22:20-21). Since Tiberius was Caesar at the time, this denarius type is attributed by scholars as the "penny" referred to in the Bible.8 commentsLucas H

1000 Réis - Anchieta1938 CE

Obverse: Head of José de Anchieta (1534-1597) left.
ANCHIETA
CB

Engraver: Calmon Barreto

Reverse: Open bible with date above, 1.000 RÉIS at top.
1.000 RÉIS
1938
BRASIL
WT

Engraver: Walter Toledo Pericles J2

12th Century Handwritten Vellum Leaf of the TalmudThis page of the Talmud predates publication of the first complete edition of the Talmud in 1540 by Daniel Bomberg. Bomberg employed rabbis, scholars, and apostates at his Venetian publishing house, and was responsible for the first Rabbinic Bible, as well as the first complete Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds. It was once customary for Jews to use old manuscripts as binding material for their newly printed and bound books. This piece is an example of that practice

Ex Living Torah Museum collection
Quant.Geek

14th Century Handwritten Vellum Leaf of the Torah This page of the Talmud predates publication of the first complete edition of the Talmud in 1540 by Daniel Bomberg. Bomberg employed rabbis, scholars, and apostates at his Venetian publishing house, and was responsible for the first Rabbinic Bible, as well as the first complete Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds. It was once customary for Jews to use old manuscripts as binding material for their newly printed and bound books. This piece is an example of that practice.

Ex Living Torah Museum collection
Quant.Geek

16 - 37 A.D. Tiberius - Ric 30 "Tribute Penny"Silver denarius, Lugdunum mint, 3.494g, 18.8mm, 225o, 16 - 37 A.D.;
TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVSTVS, laureate head right;
PONTIF MAXIM, Livia seated right holding scepter and branch, legs on chair ornamented, feet on footstool; nicely centered
RIC 30, RSC 16a, S 1763, VF

Jesus, referring to a "penny" asked, "Whose is this image and superscription?" When told it was Caesar, He said, ''Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's" (Matthew 22:20-21). Since Tiberius was Caesar at the time, this denarius type is attributed by scholars as the "penny" referred to in the Bible.2 commentsjimwho523

1612 Edition of the King James Bible, 1st Quarto - The Crucifixion of ChristThis is from the so-called 'HE' edition of the 1612 Roman-Type Quatro KJB (H313). The 'HE' refers to Ruth 3:15 as the verse was written as:

Also he said, “Bring the veil that thou hast upon thee and hold it.” And when she held it, he measured six measures of barley, and laid it on her; and he went into the city.

The 'SHE' edition of 1612 has the verse written as:

Also he said, “Bring the veil that thou hast upon thee and hold it.” And when she held it, he measured six measures of barley, and laid it on her; and she went into the city.

For further information, see Norton, David, A Textual History of the King James Bible, Cambridge University Press, 2005
1 commentsQuant.Geek

703a, Tiberius, 19 August 14 - 16 March 37 A.D., Tribute Penny of Matthew 22:20-21Silver denarius, RIC I 30, RSC II 16a, SRCV 1763, gVF, Lugdunum mint, 3.837g, 18.7mm, 90o, 16 - 37 A.D.; obverse TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVSTVS, laureate head right; reverse PONTIF MAXIM, Pax/Livia seated right holding scepter and branch, legs on chair ornamented, feet on footstool; toned. Ex FORVM.

De Imperatoribus Romanis
An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors

Tiberius (A.D. 14-37)

Garrett G. Fagan
Pennsylvania State University

Introduction
The reign of Tiberius (b. 42 B.C., d. A.D. 37, emperor A.D. 14-37) is a particularly important one for the Principate, since it was the first occasion when the powers designed for Augustus alone were exercised by somebody else. In contrast to the approachable and tactful Augustus, Tiberius emerges from the sources as an enigmatic and darkly complex figure, intelligent and cunning, but given to bouts of severe depression and dark moods that had a great impact on his political career as well as his personal relationships.

. . . .

Early life (42-12 B.C.)
Tiberius Claudius Nero was born on 16 November 42 B.C. to Ti. Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla. Both parents were scions of the gens Claudia which had supplied leaders to the Roman Republic for many generations. . . [I]n 39 B.C., his mother Livia divorced Ti. Claudius Nero and married Octavian, thereby making the infant Tiberius the stepson of the future ruler of the Roman world. Forever afterward, Tiberius was to have his name coupled with this man, and always to his detriment.

. . . .

Accession and Early Reign (A.D. 14 - 23)
The accession of Tiberius proved intensely awkward. After Augustus had been buried and deified, and his will read and honored, the Senate convened on 18 September to inaugurate the new reign and officially "confirm" Tiberius as emperor. Such a transfer of power had never happened before, and nobody, including Tiberius, appears to have known what to do. Tacitus's account is the fullest. . . Rather than tactful, he came across to the senators as obdurate and obstructive. He declared that he was too old for the responsibilities of the Principate, said he did not want the job, and asked if he could just take one part of the government for himself. The Senate was confused, not knowing how to read his behavior. Finally, one senator asked pointedly, "Sire, for how long will you allow the State to be without a head?" Tiberius relented and accepted the powers voted to him, although he refused the title "Augustus."

. . . .

Tiberius allowed a trusted advisor to get too close and gain a tremendous influence over him. That advisor was the Praetorian Prefect, L. Aelius Sejanus, who would derail Tiberius's plans for the succession and drive the emperor farther into isolation, depression, and paranoia.

Sejanus (A.D. 23-31)
Sejanus hailed from Volsinii in Etruria. He and his father shared the Praetorian Prefecture until A.D. 15 when the father, L. Seius Strabo, was promoted to be Prefect of Egypt, the pinnacle of an equestrian career under the Principate. Sejanus, now sole Prefect of the Guard, enjoyed powerful connections to senatorial houses and had been a companion to Gaius Caesar on his mission to the East, 1 B.C. - A.D. 4. Through a combination of energetic efficiency, fawning sycophancy, and outward displays of loyalty, he gained the position of Tiberius's closest friend and advisor.

. . . .

[I]n a shocking and unexpected turn of events, [a] letter sent by Tiberius from Capri initially praised Sejanus extensively, and then suddenly denounced him as a traitor and demanded his arrest. Chaos ensued. Senators long allied with Sejanus headed for the exits, the others were confused -- was this a test of their loyalty? What did the emperor want them to do? -- but the Praetorian Guard, the very troops formerly under Sejanus's command but recently and secretly transferred to the command of Q. Sutorius Macro, arrested Sejanus, conveyed him to prison, and shortly afterwards executed him summarily. A witch-hunt followed. . . All around the city, grim scenes were played out, and as late as A.D. 33 a general massacre of all those still in custody took place.

Tiberius himself later claimed that he turned on Sejanus because he had been alerted to Sejanus's plot against Germanicus's family. This explanation has been rejected by most ancient and modern authorities, since Sejanus's demise did nothing to alleviate that family's troubles.

. . . .

The Last Years (A.D. 31-37)
The Sejanus affair appears to have greatly depressed Tiberius. A close friend and confidant had betrayed him; whom could he trust anymore? His withdrawal from public life seemed more complete in the last years. Letters kept him in touch with Rome, but it was the machinery of the Augustan administration that kept the empire running smoothly. Tiberius, if we believe our sources, spent much of his time indulging his perversities on Capri.

. . . .

Tiberius died quietly in a villa at Misenum on 16 March A.D. 37. He was 78 years old. There are some hints in the sources of the hand of Caligula in the deed, but such innuendo can be expected at the death of an emperor, especially when his successor proved so depraved. The level of unpopularity Tiberius had achieved by the time of his death with both the upper and lower classes is revealed by these facts: the Senate refused to vote him divine honors, and mobs filled the streets yelling "To the Tiber with Tiberius!" (in reference to a method of disposal reserved for the corpses of criminals).

Tiberius and the Empire
Three main aspects of Tiberius's impact on the empire deserve special attention: his relative military inertia; his modesty in dealing with offers of divine honors and his fair treatment of provincials; and his use of the Law of Treason (maiestas).

. . . .

Conclusion
. . . Tiberius's reign sporadically descended into tyranny of the worst sort. In the right climate of paranoia and suspicion, widespread denunciation led to the deaths of dozens of Senators and equestrians, as well as numerous members of the imperial house. In this sense, the reign of Tiberius decisively ended the Augustan illusion of "the Republic Restored" and shone some light into the future of the Principate, revealing that which was both promising and terrifying.

[For the entire article please refer to http://www.roman-emperors.org/tiberius.htm]

Copyright © 1997, Garrett G. Fagan. Used by permission.

"Some of the things he did are hard to believe. He had little boys trained as minnows to chase him when he went swimming and to get between his legs and nibble him. He also had babies not weaned from their mother breast suck at his chest and groin . . . "
(Suetonius. The Twelve Caesars. Trans. Robert Graves. London: Penguin Books, 1979. XLIV).

Jesus, referring to a "penny" asked, "Whose is this image and superscription?" When told it was Caesar, He said, ''Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's" (Matthew 22:20-21). Since Tiberius was Caesar at the time, this denarius type is attributed by scholars as the "penny" referred to in the Bible(Joseph Sermarini).

Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.

Cleisthenes

703b, Tiberius, 19 August 14 - 16 March 37 A.D., Hierapolis, PhrygiaBronze AE 16, RPC I 2966 (1 specimen), F, Phrygia, Hierapolis, 3.300g, 15.6mm, 0o; Obverse: TIBEPIOC KAISAR, laureate head right; Reverse: IERAPOLEITWN ZOSIMOS [...], Apollo Archegetes (Lairbenos) standing left, playing lyre; reverse countermarked with star of six rays, in oval punch, 2.5 x 3.5 mm, Howgego 445 (3 pcs, 1 of which from this magistrate); dark patina; very rare. Ex FORVM.

De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families

TIBERIUS (A.D. 14-37)

Garrett G. Fagan
Pennsylvania State University

The reign of Tiberius Claudius Nero (b. 42 B.C., d. A.D. 37, emperor A.D. 14-37) is a particularly important one for the Principate, since it was the first occasion when the powers designed for Augustus alone were exercised by somebody else. In contrast to the approachable and tactful Augustus, Tiberius emerges from the sources as an enigmatic and darkly complex figure, intelligent and cunning, but given to bouts of severe depression and dark moods that had a great impact on his political career as well as his personal relationships. His reign abounds in contradictions. Despite his keen intelligence, he allowed himself to come under the influence of unscrupulous men who, as much as any actions of his own, ensured that Tiberius's posthumous reputation would be unfavorable; despite his vast military experience, he oversaw the conquest of no new region for the empire; and despite his administrative abilities he showed such reluctance in running the state as to retire entirely from Rome and live out his last years in isolation on the island of Capri. His reign represents, as it were, the adolescence of the Principate as an institution. Like any adolescence, it proved a difficult time.

. . . .

It is all but inevitable that any historical assessment of Tiberius will quickly devolve into a historiographical assessment of Tacitus. So masterful is Tacitus's portrayal of his subject, and so influential has it been ever since, that in all modern treatments of Tiberius, in attempting to get at the man, must address the issue of Tacitus's historiographical methods, his sources, and his rhetoric. The subject is too vast to address here, but some points are salient. Tacitus's methods, especially his use of innuendo and inference to convey notions that are essentially editorial glosses, makes taking his portrayal of Tiberius at face value inadvisable. Further, his belief in the immutable character of people -- that one's character is innate at birth and cannot be changed, although it can be disguised -- prevents him from investigating the possibility that Tiberius evolved and developed over his lifetime and during his reign. Instead, Tacitus's portrayal is one of peeling back layers of dissimulation to reach the "real" Tiberius lurking underneath.

Overall, Tiberius's reign can be said to show the boons and banes of rule by one man, especially a man as dark, awkward, and isolated as Tiberius. For the people of the provinces, it was a peaceful and well-ordered time. Governors behaved themselves, and there were no destructive or expensive wars. In the domestic sphere, however, the concentration of power in one person made all the greater the threat of misbehavior by ambitious satellites like Sejanus or foolish friends like Piso. Furthermore, if the emperor wished to remain aloof from the mechanics of power, he could do so. Administrators, who depended on him for their directions, could operate without his immediate supervision, but their dealings with a man like Sejanus could lead to disaster if that man fell from grace. As a result, although he was not a tyrant himself, Tiberius's reign sporadically descended into tyranny of the worst sort. In the right climate of paranoia and suspicion, widespread denunciation led to the deaths of dozens of Senators and equestrians, as well as numerous members of the imperial house. In this sense, the reign of Tiberius decisively ended the Augustan illusion of "the Republic Restored" and shone some light into the future of the Principate, revealing that which was both promising and terrifying.

[For the complete article please refer to http://www.roman-emperors.org/tiberius.htm]

By Garrett G. Fagan, Pennsylvania State University.
Published: De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families http://www.roman-emperors.org/startup.htm. Used by permission.

Hierapolis in History

Usually said to be founded by Eumenes II, king of Pergamum (197-159 BC), Hierapolis may actually have been established closer to the 4th century BC by the Seleucid kings.

The name of the city may derive from Hiera, the wife of Telephus (son of Hercules and grandson of Zeus), the mythical founder of Pergamum. Or it may have been called the "sacred city" because of the temples located at the site. (The name Pamukkale is sometimes used just to refer to the white terraces, but the modern name of the whole area is also Pamukkale.)

With Colossae and Laodicea, Hierapolis became part of the tri-city area of the Lycus River valley. Hierapolis was located across the river from the other two cities and was noted for its textiles, especially wool. The city was also famous for its purple dye, made from the juice of the madder root.

The hot springs at Hierapolis (which still attract visitors today) were believed to have healing properties, and people came to the city to bathe in the rich mineral waters in order to cure various ailments.

Hierapolis was dedicated to Apollo Lairbenos, who was said to have founded the city. The Temple of Apollo that survives in ruins today dates from the 3rd century AD, but its foundations date from the Hellenistic period.

Also worshipped at Hierapolis was Pluto, god of the underworld, probably in relation to the hot gases released by the earth (see the Plutonium, below). The chief religious festival of ancient Hierapolis was the Letoia, in honor of the the goddess Leto, a Greek form of the Mother Goddess. The goddess was honoured with orgiastic rites.

Hierapolis was ceded to Rome in 133 BC along with the rest of the Pergamene kingdom, and became part of the Roman province of Asia. The city was destroyed by an earthquake in 60 AD but rebuilt, and it reached its peak in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD.

Famous natives of Hierapolis include the Stoic philosopher Epictetus (c.55-c.135 AD) and the philosopher and rhetorician Antipater. Emperor Septimus hired Antipater to tutor his sons Caracalla and Geta, who became emperors themselves.

Hierapolis had a significant Jewish population in ancient times, as evidence by numerous inscriptions on tombs and elsewhere in the city. Some of the Jews are named as members of the various craft guilds of the city. This was probably the basis for the Christian conversion of some residents of Hierapolis, recorded in Colossians 4:13.

In the 5th century, several churches as well as a large martyrium dedicated to St. Philip (see "In the Bible," below) were built in Hierapolis. The city fell into decline in the 6th century, and the site became partially submerged under water and deposits of travertine. It was finally abandoned in 1334 after an earthquake. Excavations began to uncover Hierapolis in the 19th century.

Hierapolis in the Bible

Hierapolis is mentioned only once in the Bible, when St. Paul praises Epaphras, a Christian from Colossae, in his letter to the Colossians. Paul writes that Epaphras "has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis" (Colossians 4:12-13). Epaphras was probably the founder of the Christian community at Hierapolis.

Ancient tradition also associates Hierapolis with a biblical figure, reporting that Philip died in Hierapolis around 80 AD. However, it is not clear which Philip is menat. It could be Philip the Apostle, one of the original 12 disciples, who is said to have been martyred by upside-down crucifixion (Acts of Philip) or by being hung upside down by his ankles from a tree.

Or Philip could be Philip the Evangelist, a later disciple who helped with administrative matters and had four virgin-prophetess daughters (Acts 6:1-7; 21:8-9). Early traditions say this Philip was buried in Hierapolis along with his virgin daughters, but confusingly call him "Philip the Apostle"! In any case, it seems a prominent person mentioned in Acts did die in Hierapolis.
Sacred Destinations - Hierapolis-Pamukkale
Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.Cleisthenes

Ae2 Constantius IIAe2 Constance II A/ D N CONSTAN-TIVS P F AVG, buste diadémé (perles), drapé et cuirassé a droite, R/ FEL TEMP RE-PARATIO, Soldat allant à gauche transperçant de sa lançe un cavalier tombé a terre avec sa monture, le cavalier regarde le soldat et lève un bras dans sa direction, le soldat est casqué, porte un bouclier et a un genou sur la croupe du cheval ennemi, un bouclier à terre a droite, Î“ dans le champ à gauche, SMKÎ” à l’exergue – Cyzique – 351/354 – RIC.92 (C2)– 5,3 g

http://www.nummus-bible-database.com/monnaie-17166.htm

Ae3 Julian IIAe3 Julien II A/ D N FL CL IVLI-ANVS P F AVG, son buste diadémé, casqué, drapé et cuirassé à gauche, tenant une lance et un bouclier, R/ couronne entourant l'inscription VOT/X/MVLT/XX en 4 lignes, VRB ROM[…] à l’exergue – Rome – 361/363 – RIC.329 (C) – 3,6 g

http://www.nummus-bible-database.com/monnaie-17169.htm

Ae3 Theodosius IAe3 Théodose Ier A/ D N THEODO-SIVS P F AVG, buste diadémé (perles), drapé et cuirassé à droite, R/ SPES REI-PVBLICAE, empereur debout, tête a droite, tenant le labarum dans la main droite et un globe dans la main gauche, un captif a genou à gauche, RP à l’exergue – Rome– 388/394 - RIC 63 b (R4)

http://www.nummus-bible-database.com/monnaie-21255.htm

Antioch Tancred Follis 4th Type ObverseIC - XC Christ nimbate right hand raised in benediction left holding bible

Met 81- 85jimbomar

Arabia, Esbus, Elagabal, Spijkerman 3Elagabal, AD 218-222
AE 22, 9.49g, 22.34mm, 210°
mint of Esbus
obv. AVT M AVR ANTONINVS
Bust, draped and cuirassed, seen from behind, laureate, r.
rev. tetrastyle temple with central arch and side-wings with flat roofs; in the center Tyche as City-Goddes with short chiton and turreted, stg. half left, r. foot set on unknown object (head of bull?), holding in raised l. hand long sceptre and in extended r. hand unknown object (bust of emperor?)
l. and r. on the flat roofs A - V (Aurelia)
in ex. ECBOVC
ref. Spijkerman 3; Rosenberger IV, 3; Sofaer Collection 4; BMC Arabia p.29, 3
very rare, F+, dark green patina with sand incrustations which strengthen the contour
From Forum Ancient Coins, thanks!

Note: The obv. legend is a mix of Greek and Latin expressions: After AVT (Greek for Imperator) follows the name of the emperor in Latin.

Aurelia Esbus was situated near today's Amman/Jordan and is mentioned several times in the Bible under the name Heshbon. Originally it was a city of the Moabites which was conquered by the Israelites. During the Roman Empire it was known for its excellent springs.

Esbus has minted only under Elagabal. There are known only 6 types with no more than 3 obv. dies (Catalog of the BM).
1 commentsJochen

Aristotle, 384-322 B.C.Aristotle was born in Stagira in north Greece, the son of Nichomachus, the court physician to the Macedonian royal family. He was trained first in medicine, and then in 367 he was sent to Athens to study philosophy with Plato. He stayed at Plato's Academy until about 347. Though a brilliant pupil, Aristotle opposed some of Plato's teachings, and when Plato died, Aristotle was not appointed head of the Academy. After leaving Athens, Aristotle spent some time traveling, and possibly studying biology, in Asia Minor (now Turkey) and its islands. He returned to Macedonia in 338 to tutor Alexander the Great; after Alexander conquered Athens, Aristotle returned to Athens and set up a school of his own, known as the Lyceum. After Alexander's death, Athens rebelled against Macedonian rule, and Aristotle's political situation became precarious. To avoid being put to death, he fled to the island of Euboea, where he died in 322 B.C.

Aristotle is said to have written 150 philosophical treatises. The 30 that survive touch on an enormous range of philosophical problems, from biology and physics to morals to aesthetics to politics. Many, however, are thought to be "lecture notes" instead of complete, polished treatises, and a few may not be the work of Aristotle but of members of his school.

A full description of Aristotle's contributions to science and philosophy is beyond the scope of this gallgery. Suffice it to say that Aristotle became virtually lost to Western Civilization during the so-called "dark ages." In the later Middle Ages, Aristotle's work was rediscovered and enthusiastically adopted by medieval scholars. His followers called him Ille Philosophus (The Philosopher), or "the master of them that know," and many accepted every word of his writings -- or at least every word that did not contradict the Bible -- as eternal truth. Fused and reconciled with Christian doctrine into a philosophical system known as Scholasticism, Aristotelian philosophy became the official philosophy of the Roman Catholic Church. As a result, some scientific discoveries in the Middle Ages and Renaissance were criticized simply because they were not found in Aristotle. It is one of the ironies of the history of science that Aristotle's writings, which in many cases were based on first-hand observation, were used to impede observational science.

"Mine is the first step and therefore a small one, though worked out with much thought and hard labor. You, my readers or hearers of my lectures, if you think I have done as much as can fairly be expected of an initial start. . . will acknowledge what I have achieved and will pardon what I have left for others to accomplish," Aristotle.

See: http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/aristotle.html hosted by the University of California, Berkeley Museum of Paleontology.
Cleisthenes

Bramsen 1126. Bapteme du Roi de Rome, 1811.Obv. Laureate head of Napoleon left.
Rev. Napoleon, whole length, standing, his head encircled with a laurel wreath, full dress, richly embroidered, the imperial mantle over his shoulders; he is holding the infant with both hands in an elevated situation, as if about to plunge him in an elegant font below; on the top of the font is a Capenduncula, across which lies a branch of myrtle, also a small coffer or acerra, used for holding the incense, surmounted on the top with a cross; against the plinth of the font rests a large book ( the Bible ), on the cover of which a cross; behind the Emperor, on the right, a chair of state, the front ornamented with the initial letter N, within a laurel wreath ANDRIEU FECIT in Ex BAPTEME DU ROI DE ROME M.DCCCXI

AE68. Struck in 1814-15, the original 1811 strike had a different obverse.5 commentsLordBest

BRITISH PROTECTORATE, GREEK IONIAN ISLANDS, 1819 GEORGE III AE 2 Oboli (Penny)Obverse: IONIKON KPATOΣ:. Winged lion of St. Mark standing left, head wearing nimbus crown facing, and holding Bible containing seven arrows in outstretched paw; 1819 below.
Reverse: BRITANNIA. Britannia seated on globe facing left, shield leaning at her side, right hand resting on her right knee and holding laurel-branch, left hand holding trident.
Edge: Plain
Diameter: 34mm (Penny) | Weight: 18.4gm | Die Axis: 6h
KM 33 | Pridmore 18
Very Rare

The dies for this coin were engraved by William Wyon and the coin was struck at the Royal Mint in London. This issue, the 2 Oboli, was only struck in 1819.

Britain issued coins for the Ionian Islands based on the obol, equal to a British half-penny, intermittently until 1862. One obol was equal to four lepta up until 1834 when it was revalued at five lepta.
The obol was replaced by the Greek drachma when the Ionian Islands were given to Greece.

The Ionian Islands were seized by the British from the French when the French fleet was defeated off the island of Zakynthos (Zante) in 1809. Britain immediately took possession of Zante, Cephalonia, Kythira and Ithaca and in 1810 took over Santa Maura as well. The islands of Corfu and Paxos remained occupied by the French until 1814 when they too surrendered to the British who then ruled all the islands until 1864.
With de facto British occupation the Ionian Islands were placed under the exclusive "amicable protection" of the United Kingdom. This arrangement was formalised in 1817 when the seven principal islands became the United States of the Ionian Islands formed as a British Protectorate. The seven main islands are represented by the seven arrows held by the winged lion of St. Mark depicted on the coins. The British greatly improved the islands' communications and introduced modern education and justice systems, but after Greek independence was established, the islanders pressed for union with Greece and they were ceded to Greece in 1864 as a gift of the United Kingdom to the newly enthroned King George. *Alex

BRITISH PROTECTORATE, GREEK IONIAN ISLANDS, 1820 GEORGE III AE 2 Lepta (Farthing)Obverse: IONIKON KPATOΣ:. Winged lion of St. Mark standing left, head wearing nimbus crown facing, and holding Bible containing seven arrows in outstretched paw; 1820• below.
Reverse: BRITANNIA•. Britannia seated on globe facing left, shield leaning at her side, right hand resting on her right knee and holding laurel-branch, left hand holding trident.
Edge: Plain
Diameter: 22mm (Farthing) | Weight: 4.67gm | Die Axis: 6h
KM 31 | Pridmore 21

The dies for this coin were engraved by William Wyon and the coin was struck at the Royal Mint in London.

Britain issued coins for the Ionian Islands based on the obol, equal to a British half-penny, intermittently until 1862. One obol was equal to four lepta up until 1834 when it was revalued at five lepta.
The obol was replaced by the Greek drachma when the Ionian Islands were given to Greece.

The Ionian Islands were seized by the British from the French when the French fleet was defeated off the island of Zakynthos (Zante) in 1809. Britain immediately took possession of Zante, Cephalonia, Kythira and Ithaca and in 1810 took over Santa Maura as well. The islands of Corfu and Paxos remained occupied by the French until 1814 when they too surrendered to the British who then ruled all the islands until 1864.
With de facto British occupation the Ionian Islands were placed under the exclusive "amicable protection" of the United Kingdom. This arrangement was formalised in 1817 when the seven principal islands became the United States of the Ionian Islands formed as a British Protectorate. The seven main islands are represented by the seven arrows held by the winged lion of St. Mark depicted on the coins. The British greatly improved the islands' communications and introduced modern education and justice systems, but after Greek independence was established, the islanders pressed for union with Greece and they were ceded to Greece in 1864 as a gift of the United Kingdom to the newly enthroned King George. *Alex

BRITISH PROTECTORATE, GREEK IONIAN ISLANDS, 1862 VICTORIA AE LeptonObverse: IONIKON KPATOΣ•. Winged lion of St. Mark standing left, head wearing nimbus crown facing, and holding Bible containing seven arrows in outstretched paw; 1862• below.
Reverse: BRITANNIA•. Britannia seated facing right, right hand resting on shield at her side, left hand holding trident.
Edge: Plain
Diameter: 16.5mm | Weight: 1.75gm | Die Axis: 6h
KM 34

The dies for this coin were engraved by William Wyon and the coin was struck at the Royal Mint in London.

Britain issued coins for the Ionian Islands based on the obol, equal to a British half-penny, intermittently until 1862. One obol was equal to four lepta up until 1834 when it was revalued at five lepta.
The obol was replaced by the Greek drachma when the Ionian Islands were given to Greece.

The Ionian Islands were seized by the British from the French when the French fleet was defeated off the island of Zakynthos (Zante) in 1809. Britain immediately took possession of Zante, Cephalonia, Kythira and Ithaca and in 1810 took over Santa Maura as well. The islands of Corfu and Paxos remained occupied by the French until 1814 when they too surrendered to the British who then ruled all the islands until 1864.
With de facto British occupation the Ionian Islands were placed under the exclusive "amicable protection" of the United Kingdom. This arrangement was formalised in 1817 when the seven principal islands became the United States of the Ionian Islands formed as a British Protectorate. The seven main islands are represented by the seven arrows held by the winged lion of St. Mark depicted on the coins. The British greatly improved the islands' communications and introduced modern education and justice systems, but after Greek independence was established, the islanders pressed for union with Greece and they were ceded to Greece in 1864 as a gift of the United Kingdom to the newly enthroned King George.*Alex

Brockage Crispus Ae3 Crispus A/ FL IVL CRISPVS NOB CAES, buste lauré, casqué et cuirassé à droite, R/ incus

http://www.nummus-bible-database.com/monnaie-10953.htm

Byzantine Anonymous Follis: Class A3 [010]6.57 grams
24.9 mm
Attributed to Basil II & Constantine VII (976-1025)
DOC: poss. 22 or 29 (ornamentation on Bible indistinct)
Overstruck, but undertype uncertaincmcdon0923

Carrhae in Mesopotamia, Septimius Severus, AE 24, Lindgren 2557Carrhae in Mesopotamia, Septimius Severus, AE 24, 193-211 AD
Av.: CEΠTIMIOC [CE]OY.... , naked (laureate?) bust of Septimius Severus right
Rv.: ..Λ]OY KAPPH ΛKA... , front view of a tetrastyle temple, the temple of the moon god Sin, in the middle a sacred stone on tripod, on top of stone: crescent, standards (with crescents on top) on both sides inside the building; another crescent in the pediment.
Lindgren 2557 ; BMC p. 82, #4

The city and the region played an important role in roman history.

Carrhae / Harran, (Akkadian Harrânu, "intersecting roads"; Latin Carrhae), an ancient city of strategic importance, an important town in northern Mesopotamia, famous for its temple of the moon god Sin, is now nothing more than a village in southeastern Turkey with an archeological site.
In the Bible it is mentioned as one of the towns where Abraham stayed on his voyage from Ur to the promised land. Abraham's family settled there when they left Ur of the Chaldeans (Genesis 11:31-32).
Inscriptions indicate that Harran existed as early as 2000 B.C. In its prime, it controlled the point where the road from Damascus joins the highway between Nineveh and Carchemish. This location gave Harran strategic value from an early date. It is frequently mentioned in Assyrian inscriptions about 1100 BC, under the name Harranu, or "Road" (Akkadian harrānu, 'road, path, journey' ).
During the fall of the Assyrian Empire, Harran became the stronghold of its lasts king, Ashur-uballit II, being besiged and conquered by Nabopolassar of Babylon at 609 BC. Harran became part of Median Empire after the fall of Assyria, and subsequently passed to the Persian Achaemenid dynasty.
The city remained Persian untill in 331 BC when the soldiers of the Macedonian king Alexander the Great entered the city.
After the death of Alexander on 11 June 323 BC, the city was claimed by his successors: Perdiccas, Antigonus Monophthalmus and Eumenes. These visited the city, but eventually, it became part of the Asian kingdom of Seleucos I (Nicator), the Seleucid empire, and capital of a province called Osrhoene (the Greek term for the old name Urhai).
The Seleucids settled Macedonian veterans at Harran. For a century-and-a-half, the town flourished, and it became independent when the Parthian dynasty of Persia occupied Babylonia. The Parthian and Seleucid kings both needed the buffer state of Osrhoene which was part of the larger Parthian empire and had nearby Edessa as its capital. The dynasty of the Arabian Abgarides, technically a vassal of the Parthian "king of kings" ruled Osrhoene for centuries.

Carrhae was the scene of a disastrous defeat of the Roman general Crassus by the Parthians. In 53 BC. Crassus, leading an army of 50.000, conducted a campaign against Parthia. After he captured a few cities on the way, he hurried to cross the Euphrates River with hopes of receiving laurels and the title of “Emperor”. But as he drove his forces over Rakkan towards Harran, Parthian cavalry besieged his forces in a pincers movement. In the ensuing battle, the Roman army was defeated and decimated. The battle of Carrhae was the beginning of a series of border wars with Parthia for many centuries. Numismatic evidence for these wars or the corresponding peace are for instance the "Signis Receptis" issues of Augustus and the “Janum Clusit” issues of Nero.
Later Lucius Verus tried to conquer Osrhoene and initially was successful. But an epidemic made an annexation impossible. However, a victory monument was erected in Ephesus, and Carrhae/Harran is shown as one of the subject towns.
Septimius Severus finally added Osrhoene to his realms in 195. The typical conic domed houses of ancient Harran can be seen on the Arch of Septimius Severus on the Forum Romanum.
Harran was the chief home of the moon-god Sin, whose temple was rebuilt by several kings. Sin was one of the great gods of the Assurian-Babylonian pantheon.
Caracalla gave Harran the status of a colonia (214 AD) and visited the city and the temple of the moon god in April 217. Meanwhile the moon god (and sacred stones) had become a part of the Roman pantheon and the temple a place to deify the roman emperors (as the standards on both sides of the temple indicate).

Caracalla was murdered while he was on his way from Temple to the palace. If this had been arranged by Macrinus - the prefect of the Praetorian guard who was to be the new emperor – is not quite clear. On the eighth of April, the emperor and his courtiers made a brief trip to the world famous temple of the moon god. When Caracalla halted to perform natural functions, he was assassinated by one of his bodyguards, Julius Martialis, who had a private grudge against the ruler, because he had not been given the post of centurion.

In 296 AD Roman control was again interrupted when nearby Carrhae the emperor Galerius was defeated by the king Narses / the Sasanid dynasty of Persia. The Roman emperor Julianus Apostata sacrificed to the moon god in 363 AD, at the beginning of his ill-fated campaign against the Sassanid Persians. The region continued to be a battle zone between the Romans and Sassanids. It remained Roman (or Byzantine) until 639, when the city finally was captured by the Muslim armies.

At that time, the cult of Sin still existed. After the arrival of the Islam, the adherents of other religions probably went to live in the marshes of the lower Tigris and Euphrates, and are still known as Mandaeans.
The ancient city walls surrounding Harran, 4 kilometer long and 3 kilometer wide, have been repaired throughout the ages (a.o. by the Byzantine emperor Justinian in the sixth century), and large parts are still standing. The position of no less than 187 towers has been identified. Of the six gates (Aleppo gate, Anatolian, Arslanli, Mosul, Baghdad, and Rakka gate), only the first one has remained.

A citadel was built in the 14th century in place of the Temple of Sin. This lies in the south-west quarter of the ancient town. Its ruin can still be visited.

my ancient coin database
1 commentsArminius

Domitian Sebaste, Samaria Countermark LXFDomitian Ae 25mm, 14.02 g. Sebaste, Samaria. O: Laureate head of Domitian IMP DOMITIANVS CAESAR; Countermark: LXF, of the Tenth Legion Fretensis in rectangular punch. R: Tyche standing to left resting foot on rock(?) holding spear and globe, [CEBAC]THNWN (of the people of Sebaste); in l. field, date: LÎ˜Î¡ (year 109 = 81/2 AD). Host coin - RPC II 2226, with LXF - Hendin 1613a.

The Tenth Legion probably acquired its name, Fretensis, from the Fretum Siculum, the straits where the legion fought successfully against Sextus Pompey.

It is undoubtedly most famous for its part in the destruction of Jerusalem under General Titus. Starting in 66 CE, Roman armies began fighting their way from the northern parts of Israel, down to Jerusalem.

Titus advanced on Jerusalem near Passover 70 C.E., trapping the residents and pilgrims inside the city. His forces stripped the Judean countryside of trees to build a 4.5-mile-long wall of pointed stakes around the capital.

In that year X Fretensis, in conjunction with V Macedonica, XII Fulminata, and XV Apollinaris, began the five month siege of Jerusalem that would result in what Jewish Bible scholar Alfred Edersheim described as a, “tribulation to Israel unparalleled in the terrible past of its history, and unequalled even in its bloody future.”

What was the Tenth Legion doing in Sebaste, Samaria? According to some scholars it was perhaps to defend against the appearance of a pseudo-Nero, who had garnered the support of the Parthians.
1 commentsNemonater

Domitian, 13 September 81 - 18 September 96 A.D.Silver denarius, RIC II, part 1, 773; BMCRE II 226; BnF III 203; RSC II 286; Hunter I -; cf. SRCV I 2736 (TR P XII), VF, well centered, toned, reverse center a little weak, Rome mint, weight 3.310g, maximum diameter 19.2mm, die axis 180o, 1 Jan - 13 Sep 95 A.D.; obverse IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM P M TR P XIIII, laureate head right; reverse IMP XXII COS XVII CENS P P P, Minerva standing left, helmeted and draped, inverted spear vertical before her in her right hand, her left hand on hip.

In 95 A.D., Domitian had several senators and ex-consuls executed out of paranoid fears that they were plotting to kill him. Manius Acilius Glabrio belonged to one of the noblest families of Rome and had been consul in 91 (conjointly with Trajan, who would later become emperor). Domitian ordered him to descend into the Colosseum arena to fight a huge lion. Glabrio slew the animal, exciting the crowd, but Domitian still banished him and later put him to death on some false pretext. After his death, his body was brought to Rome, and buried on the Via Salaria, in the catacomb of Priscilla. Xiphilinus, speaking of the executions of 95 A.D., says that some members of the imperial family and other persons of importance were condemned for atheism; they had embraced the Christian faith.

From The Sam Mansourati Collection.
Given as a souvenir to a very dear friend and a Bible Teacher Mr. John DelRicci . (10/13/2017)Sam

Dora, Phoenicia, 1st Century A.D.Bronze AE 22, (Rosenberger 19), Weight 10.015g, Max. diameter 21.3mm, Dora mint, 68 - 69 AD; Obv. bearded head of Doros right; Rev. ΔWPEITWN, Astarte, wearing turreted crown, holding standard and cornucopia, AΛP in left field; rare city. Dark brown and desert patina.
EX. Forvm Ancient Coins

Background info, courtesy Forvm Ancient Coins;

Dora, on the coast eight miles north of Caesarea, was a Canaanite city. It fell to the Philistines early in the 12th century B.C. Solomon appointed the son of Abinadab as overseer of Dor (I Kings 4:11). In the Persian period Dor was a Sidonian colony. In Hellenistic times it was a Ptolemaic seaport and royal fortress, once besieged by Antiochus VII, (1 Macc. 15. 11-14). Under the Romans, Dora was a free city. See also Josh 11:2, 17:11; and Judg 1:27.1 commentsSteve E

Double Maiorina Magentiusdouble maiorina Magnence A/ D N MAGNEN-TIVS P F AVG, buste drapé et cuirassé à droite, tête nue, R/ SALVS D D N N AVG ET CAES, grand chrisme accosté des lettres A et Ï‰ – 353 – 7,7 g

http://www.nummus-bible-database.com/monnaie-18338.htm

Emperor Standing over Bound Captives: Constantius II, Antioch, Christian Emperor Conquers BarbariansRoman Imperial. Constantius II (Augustus, 337-361 CE). AE Centenionalis (4.79g, 22mm, 1h). Antioch mint, 5th officina, c. 348-350 CE.
Obv: DN CONSTANTIVS PF AVG. Pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust left, holding globe in right hand. Rev: FEL TEMP REPARATIO / Star (left) / ANЄ (exergue). Constantius II in military garb standing left, spurning a captive with foot while holding standard, a cross decorating its banner, and resting hand on shield set on ground. To left, two bearded captives kneeling vis-à-vis, wearing Phrygian caps, hands bound behind their backs.
Ref: RIC (VIII) 127; LRBC 2616.
Provenance: Ex-Peus EA 10 (Frankfurt, 18 Jan 2020) 592 (corr. RIC no.); from a North German Private Collection (“aus Norddeutscher Privatsammlung”).
NVMMVS BIBLE II NBD 85614 (this coin; LINK).
Hist Notes: An important scene. After Constantine's death, the Roman/Byzantine concept of the “barbarian” came to connote not only an uncivilized foreigner, but a religious outsider, especially Pagan. Here that process takes shape in the visual medium of coinage.
Constantius is shown triumphant, bearing a Christian standard while standing over two defeated captives of distinctively Eastern/Persian appearance. Not only does it represent conquest over enemies, but also the triumph of the newly-favored Christian religion over Pagans.
In the long history of Imperial propaganda using Christianity to justify attacking foreigners and political enemies, this coin is surely among the first.
More: LINK. Coin-in-hand video: LINK.Curtis JJ

Ethiopian Coptic Ge’ez Bible (ca. 18th Century)Ethiopian Handwritten Coptic Ge’ez Bibles were produced as early as the fourteenth century until the late 19th century throughout Ethiopia, the first country to become an independent African nation. Christianity was introduced to Ethiopia in the 4th century when Syrian missionaries first translated the Bible into Ge’ez, the language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. The surviving body of Ge’ez literature in composed almost entirely of Christian liturgy, as education was exclusively the responsibility of priests and monks. The bibles produced typically contain the gospels of the New Testament, recounting the life of Jesus of Nazareth and the foundation of the Christian faith with illuminated miniature paintings depicting the lives of the Saints.Quant.Geek

Eudoxia, AE4Antioch mint, third officina
[A]EL EVDOXIA AVG, diademed and draped bust right, above, hand holding wreath
SALVS REIPVBLICAE, Victory seated right, inscribing christogram on shield. [ANT Gamma] at exergue
2.35 gr
Ref : Roman coins # 4241

Based on the observation of another example minted with the same dies and with a visible exergue on reverse, the Antioch's third officina provenance of this coin is now certain. Thanks to Myriam at Nummus Bible II forum for her perspicacity and for providing me with the information
2 commentsPotator II

Fallen Horseman: Constantius II (Cyzicus), Decorated ShieldRoman Imperial. Constantius II (Augustus, 337-361) AE Centenionalis (5.20g, 25mm, 12h). Cyzicus, first Officina, 351 – 355.
Obv: D N CONSTANTIVS P F AVG. Diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right. Rev: FEL TEMP REPARATIO. Γ in left field. •SMKA in exergue. Soldier, bearing shield decorated with three pellets above and below shield boss (central hub), spearing fallen horseman. Type FH3.
Ref: RIC VIII 96. NVMMVS BIBLE II NBD N° 95642 (this coin; LINK).
Prov: Ex-InAsta spa Auction 91, (San Marino, 15 Dec 2020), Lot 4327.
Notes: Note the additional decorations on soldier's shield (and armor, helmet), seen on other examples RIC 96, Cyzicus. The first officina (SMKA), specifically, used the six dots above and below the shield boss on other dies as well.Curtis JJ

Fallen Horseman: Oversized Constantius II (7.67g, 25mm)Photo Credit: Bertolami Fine Arts.
Roman Imperial. Constantius II AE Centenionalis (7.67g, 25mm, 12h), Constantinople, 348-351 CE.
Obv: D N CONSTANTIVS P F AVG. Pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust, surrounded by border of dots.
Rev: FEL TEMP REPARATIO // Γ // CONSЄ*. Soldier standing left, holding long oval shield with circular boss, and spearing fallen horseman; bearded horseman astride fallen horse, turning and reaching back with left arm (FH3), wearing short-brimmed (Scythian?) helmet, ornate tunic, and trousers. "Centering dot" between soldier and horse. Border of dots.
Ref: RIC 82-E, LRBC 2026; cf. RIC 81 (FH4). NVMMVS BIBLE II NBD N° 61536 (this coin; LINK).
Prov: Ex-Bertolami Fine Arts 37 (19 Sep 2017), Lot 689 (corr. RIC 81) & e-92 (2 Oct 2020), Lot 1554 (corr. weight as 7.70g, RIC 81).

Note: Based on the weight distribution provided for "Large AE2" in RIC VIII, only 1 or 2 of 405 specimens are as heavy or heavier than this one (7.7g & 8.2g). Comparison to ACSearch records indicates specimens this heavy are even rarer than the RIC data suggest; one Constantius Gallus FH weighing 8.10g is reported (Roma 13, 939); Doug Smith reported a 9.5g (!) Cyzicus FH in his collection, c. 1997 (far & away the heaviest I've heard of).5 commentsCurtis JJ

GREEK, Phoenicia, Tyre, AR Shekel, 88-87 B.C.PHOENICIA, Tyre. 126/5 BC-AD 65/6. AR Shekel (28mm, 1h). Dated CY 39 (88/7 BC).
Laureate bust of Melkart right / Eagle standing left on prow, with palm branch over shoulder; to left, Î˜Î› (date) above club; Î” to right, Phoenician B between legs.
BMC –; HGC 10, 357; DCA 919.

GREEK, Quasi-Autonomous, Silanus, Antioch, Syria, "Star of Bethlehem"Silanus (Legatus Augusti pro praetore)
Syria, Antioch AE22
No obverse legend - Laureate bust or Zeus right
EΠI ΣIΛANOY ANTIOXEΩN - Ram running right, looking back, star above. ΓM (year 43) below.
RPC I 4269 | GICV 5186
BMC Galatiaia pg 159, 65
12-13 A.D.
The astronomer Michael Molnar believes this coin depicts Jupiter's occultation of Aries in 6 B.C., which could be the Star of Bethlehem in the Bible.
http://www.eclipse.net/~molnar/

2 commentsHolding_History

Half Siliqua Arcadiusdemi-silique Arcadius A/ D N ARCADI-VS P F AVG, buste diadémé, drapé et cuirassé à droite R/ VICTORI-A AVGGG, Victoire allant à gauche tenant une couronne et une palme, MD à l’exergue – Milan – 394/395 – RIC.39 a (R4) – 0,95 g

http://www.nummus-bible-database.com/monnaie-7796.htm

Half Siliqua Majorian"demi-silique" Majorien A/ D N IVL MAIORIANVS, buste casqué et cuirassé à droite, R/ VIT - à droite, GG à gauche pour VICTORIA AVGG, Victoire debout à gauche tenant une longue croix, *•* à l'exergue - 0.6 g – RIC. Manque avec cette légende d’avers

http://www.nummus-bible-database.com/monnaie-15887.htm1 comments

Herod Archelaus, Ethnarch of Samaria, Judea, and Idumea, 4 B.C. - 6 A.D.Herod Archelaus, son of Herod the Great, 4 BC-6 AD, Bronze Prutah of 16.1 mm, 2.48 grams. ( Under the first Roman emperor Augustus { Reign ; January 16, 27 BC – August 19, 14 AD } )
Obverse: HPÏ‰âˆ†OY (of Herod) Bunch of grapes.
Reverse: EÎ˜NOPXOY (Ethnarch), tall helmet with crest and neck straps viewed from the front, small caduceus in lower left field.
Reference: Hendin 1196.

“Swear to me, young women of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or by the does of the field, that you won’t awaken or arouse love before its proper time.” Song of Solomon.

Given as a souvenir to a very dear friend and a Bible Teacher Mr. John DelRicci . (10/13/2017)1 commentsSam

Herod I (the Great)Herod I (the Great). 40-4 BCE. Æ 8 Prutot, 22mm, 5.82 g. Samaria mint. Dated RY 3 (40 BCE). O: Ceremonial bowl (lebes) on tripod; date L Î“ (Year 3) to left, monogram to right. Greek Inscription: BAÎ£IÎ›EÎ©Î£ HPÎ©Î”OÎ¥ (of King Herod.) R: Military helmet with cheek guards and straps, star above, palms flanking. Meshorer 44; Hendin 486; RPC I 4901.

Although there is debate over exactly what year “Year 3” refers to, the monogram TP may well indicate the third year of Herod’s tetrarchy. Josephus writes that Mark Antony appointed Herod as tetrarch (TETPAPXHÎ£) in 42 B.C.E., which would bring us to 40/39 B.C.E. This is also when Herod was crowned as King of Judaea by the Roman Senate with the approval of Octavian (soon to be Augustus.)

This dating helps to explain the meaning of the obverse image of a soldier’s helmet. Although Herod was appointed as king, the Hasmonaean king, Mattathias Antigonus, was still ruling over Judea and did not recognize Roman authority. Herod would therefore have to raise an army, which he did, and, after a three month siege, conquered Jerusalem in 37 B.C.E.

Although Herod accomplished a great deal during his thirty-year + reign, including the building of massive palaces and amphitheaters and enlarging the temple, he is most remembered as a jealous, paranoid murderer, willing to do anything to maintain his political power.

Herod ordered the death of his Hasmonaean wife Mariamne and her brother Aristobulus. Later he had his two sons by Mariamne killed as well. This effectively eliminated the most serious threats to his power in Judaea. Caesar Augustus observed that it was safer to be Herod’s pig than Herod’s son. His wickedness reached its peak years later when, in fear of a rival king, he ordered the killing of all the boys two years of age and under in Bethlehem.

The Bible writer Matthew records Jesus’ birth taking place, “in the days of Herod the king.” A star led astrologers to Herod proclaiming the birth “of the one born king of the Jews.” The resulting slaughter of these children fulfilled the prophesy at Jeremiah 31:15, “This is what Jehovah has said, ‘In Raâ€²mah a voice is being heard, lamentation and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping over her sons. She has refused to be comforted over her sons, because they are no more.’”4 commentsNemonater

Israel, Jerusalem - Kidron Valley (2)Another Kidron valley tomb complex (about 60m south of Tantour Faroun). Jewish pilgrims called this the ‘Tomb of Zechariah’, while the Christian pious associated it with their own early martyrs, notably St. James. In fact, an inscription shows that this was the burial place of the priestly Bene Hezir family, who get a passing mention in the Bible (1 Chronicles 24:15). The nefesh with a pyramidal top marks the entrance to a passage ascending into the cliff on the left. The actual burial chambers (four of them) lie in the area behind the Doric-columned façade. The complex dates from the later second-century BC. Abu Galyon

Jannaeus Prutah 2Ae prutah of Alexander Jannaeus, 103-76 BC.
Obverse; YEHONATAN Anchor.
Reverse; Star in circle..
1.6g/14mm
Thought to be the "widows mite" from the bible..SRukke

Julia Domna, LVCIFERAJulia Domna Augusta Silver denarius. Silver denarius, RIC IV 548, VF, Rome mint, 2.867g, 18.0mm, 0o, 196 - 211 A.D.; obverse IVLIA AVGVSTA, draped bus right; reverse DIANA LVCIFERA (light bringing Diana), Diana standing left crescent over shoulders, holding transverse flaming torch in both hands. Lucifer means lightbringer, from the Latin lux "light" and ferre "to bear or bring." The word Lucifer is found in only one place in the Bible -- Isaiah 14:12 -- but only in the King James and related versions: "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! The King James Version is based on the Vulgate, the Latin translation of Jerome. Jerome translated the Hebrew helel (bright or brilliant one) as "lucifer," which was a reasonable Latin equivalent. And yet it is this lucifer, the bright one or lightbearer, that came to be understood by so many as the name for Satan, Lord of Darkness. -- Sunrise magazine, October/November 1996. ex FORVM, photo credit FORVMPodiceps

Licinius II Caesar, Arelate mint, 317-318 AD., Æ3, RIC 126. Licinius II Caesar, Arelate (Arles) mint, officina 3, 317-318 AD.,
Æ3 / Follis / Nummus ? (ø 18-20 mm / 3,31 g), bronze, axis about medal alignment â†‘â†‘ (ca. 340°),
Obv.: VAL LICINIVS NOB CAES , his laureate, draped bust r. - son buste lauré et drapé à droite.
Rev.: IOVI CONSER - VATORI / R – S / T ARL , Jupiter standing half-naked left, holding a thunderbolt and leaning on a long scepter, his coat spread behind him, R - S in the fields, T ARL in the exergue - Jupiter à demi-nu debout à gauche tenant un foudre et un sceptre long, son manteau déployé derrière lui, R/S dans le champ, T ARL à l’exergue.
RIC VII, p. 246, no. 126 (R4) ; Ferrando I 551 ; Ferrando II 714 (R2) ; missing on www.nummus-bible-database.com .
Arminius

Low Countries, silver jeton 1590: the election of Prince Maurice of Nassau as Stadtholder of Guelders, Overijssel and UtrechtObverse: •HANC•TVEMVR•/HAC•NITIMVR•, rose on left and right between pellets, six arms (representing the provinces) holding column which rests on a bible, liberty cap on top, LIB-ERT•/RE-LIG• in left and right field
Reverse: CALC•SENAT•PROVINC•VNIT•BELGII•1590, two arms coming from clouds holding six arrows which are tied together, DEO above, IVVANTF below

Minted in: Dordrecht2 commentsRomaVictor

Maiorina MagentiusMaiorina Magnence A/ D N MAGNEN-TIVS P F AVG , buste drapé et cuirassé à droite, A derrière la tête R/ GLORIA ROMANORVM, Magnence à cheval à droite transperçant de sa lance un ennemi agenouillé, sous le cheval une lance brisée et un bouclier, RPLG à l’exergue – Lyon – 3ème phase de mai 350 à août 350 – Bastien 160 (22 ex) - RIC.115 (C3) – NBD 876, 1881, 3599, 9119 – 4,6 g

http://www.nummus-bible-database.com/monnaie-17168.htm

Martin Luther Wittenberg Bible Woodcut LeafDate: AD 1549, Wittenberg, H. Lufft, rare
Size: 12x7.5 inches

These are two woodblock prints with illuminated letters and depict passages from the book of Jeremiah. This superb leaf comes from: Biblia Das ist – Die gantze Heilige, Shrifft – Deudsch. Mart. Luther (Ubers), Wittenberg, H. Lufft, AD 1549.
This was printed about three years after his death and demonstrates his skills as he translated the Bible from Greek and Latin into German. Hans Lufft (1495–1584) was a German printer and publisher, commonly called "the Bible Printer," because in 1534 he printed at Wittenberg the first complete edition of Luther's Bible, in two quarto volumes with illuminations in gold and colors by Lucas Cranach. Lufft printed in the 40 years following more than 100,000 copies of the German Bible. He also printed most of the other works of Luther.1 commentsNoah

MEDIEVAL, Bishop Wolfhard von Roth-Wacernitz. 1288-1302 AD. Augsburg mint.Bractate, AR, 20mm, 0.5gm. Obv: Crowned head of bishop with five pellets inside crown, holding lituus and book (bible?). Ref: Steinhilber 94, Berger 2656 ff, Bonhoff 1919.
RARE

MenSeptimius Severus Ae23
Obv:– L SEPT SEV PERT AVG IMP, Radiate bust right
Rev:– ANTIOCH COLONIA CCA, Mên standing facing, head right, wearing phrygian head, holding sceptre and Nike, left foot on bucranium (cowhead); to left, a rooster
Minted in Pisidia, Antioch.
The temple of Mên was situated on a hill three and a half kilometres to the south-east of Antioch in Pisidia, on a small mountain, 2,000 metres high. The temple was also dedicated to Cybele. Antioch in Pisidia is mentioned in the bible as one of the locations that St. Paul visited.maridvnvm

Michael VII: 1071-1078 ADMichael VII AV Histamenon Nomisma
Denomination: Gold Histamenon Nomisma
Year: 1071-1078
Obverse: Jesus Christ bust facing, raising hand and holding Bible.
Reverse: Crowned facing bust of Michael, holding labarum and globus cruciger; pellet on shaft.
Mint: Constantinople
Weight & Measures: 4.35g
References: Sear 1868
Provenance: Ex Stacks Bowers Galleries (January 2024 NYINC Auction); Lot 55394

Notes: Tooling marks noted around rims. Justin L1

Nikopolis ad Istrum, ElagabalusNicopolis ad Istrum was a Roman and Early Byzantine town founded by Emperor Trajan around 101–106, at the junction of the Iatrus (Yantra) and the Rositsa rivers, in memory of his victory over the Dacians. Its ruins are located at the village of Nikyup, 20 km north of Veliko Tarnovo in northern Bulgaria. The town reached its floruit during the reigns of Trajan, Hadrian, the Antonines and the Severan dynasty.

The classical town was planned according to the orthogonal system. The network of streets, the forum surrounded by an Ionic colonnade and many buildings, a two-nave room later turned into a basilica and other public buildings have been uncovered. The rich architectures and sculptures show a similarity with those of the ancient towns in Asia Minor. Nicopolis ad Istrum had issued coins, bearing images of its own public buildings.

In 447 AD, the town was destroyed by Attila's Huns. Perhaps it was already abandoned before the early 5th century. In the 6th century, it was rebuilt as a powerful fortress enclosing little more than military buildings and churches, following a very common trend for the cities of that century in the Danube area.[4] The largest area of the extensive ruins (21.55 hectares) of the classical Nicopolis was not reoccupied since the fort covered only one fourth of it (5.75 hectares), in the southeastern corner. The town became an episcopal centre during the early Byzantine period. It was finally destroyed by the Avar invasions at the end of the 6th century. A Bulgarian medieval settlement arose upon its ruins later (10th-14th century).

Nicopolis ad Istrum can be said to have been the birthplace of Germanic literary tradition. In the 4th century, the Gothic bishop, missionary and translator Ulfilas (Wulfila) obtained permission from Emperor Constantius II to immigrate with his flock of converts to Moesia and settle near Nicopolis ad Istrum in 347-8. There, he invented the Gothic alphabet and translated the Bible from Greek to Gothic.

Elagabalus, Nikopolis ad Istrum.
rev. VPA.NOB.ROVFOV NIKOPOLITWN PROC, in l. and r. field ICT - RON
AMNG I/1, 1893 (1 ex., Löbbecke)1 commentsecoli

Old BibleCover

Old BibleDedication

Phoenicia, Byblos, Diadumenian, Rouvier 699Diadumenian, Caesar, mid May 218 - 8. June 218
AE 24, 10.81g
obv. M OP DIADYMENIANOC KAI
bare head, bust, cuirassed, r.
rev. BYB - LOY / IERAC (in exergue)
distyle temple, covered by an arch decorated by shell-like swags, in which Astarte is standing r., with polos on head, spear in r. hand and foot on prow, crowned with wreath by Nike, standing on column r. before her.
BMC 40-43; Rouvier 699
scarce, about VF(?)
added to www.wildwinds.com

ASTARTE, a major Northwest-Semitic goddess, was cognate with the East-Semitic goddess Ishtar. She was connected with fertility, sexuality and war. She was accepted by the Greeks under the name of Aphrodite. Cyprus, one of Aphrodite's main cult centers supplied the name Cypris as Aphrodite's most common byname.

BYBLOS , one of her important cult centers and therefore called 'the Holy Byblos', in ancient times was the most important port of export for Egyptian papyros to Greece. Therefore Greek biblos = book, and The Holy Bible!

For more information look at the thread 'Coins of mythological interest'
2 commentsJochen

Phonecia, Tyre half shekelLaureate bust of Melkart right

ΤΥΡΟΥ ΙΕΡΑΣ ΚΑΙ ΑΣΥΛΟΥ (of Tyre the holy and inviolable)
Eagle standing left on prow; palm over shoulder, club to the left, flanked by date LM (40) and monogram ΔP to the right.

Tyre; Year 40= 87/86 BC
6.98g

Sear 5921; BMC 225

Ex-HJB Buy or Bid Sale 206, lot 103 (Nov 15, 2018); Ex-Calgary Coin

Removed from NGC holder prior to HJB.
NGC graded Strike 4/5, Surface 3/5; NGC 4278263-010

According to the Mosaic law, every year, Jewish males over the age of 20, paid a half shekel tax in silver to the Temple in Jerusalem. Mention of this tax can be found in the Bible at Exodus 30:15 Of course, at the time of writing there were no coins in circulation and this tax was paid by weight in silver. By the 1st century BC the tax was paid in either the Tyrian shekel (enough for two people) or half-shekel (for himself). The Jewish Talmud required the tax to be paid with a coin of high purity silver. The only ones that conformed to this high standard were the 94% pure silver Tyrian shekels. Even though these coins depict images of Melkart (Phoenician Hercules) and an eagle, they were still accepted at the temple because of the silver content. 5 commentsJay GT4

Roman Empire, Constantin I - Buste equestre Ae3 Follis réduit Constantin Ier A/ IMP CONSTANTINVS A-VG, buste lauré, casqué et cuirassé à gauche, un cheval à sa droite, tenant une lance par dessus l’épaule de sa main droite et un bouclier orné d’un cavalier terrassant un ennemi de sa main gauche, R/ SOLI INVIC-TO COMITI, Soleil debout à gauche levant la main droite et tenant un globe, T/F dans le champ (TEMPORVM FELICITAS, la Félicité du temps), PLG à l'exergue - Lyon - 314/315 – RIC. manque avec ce type de buste – 3,6 g

http://www.nummus-bible-database.com/monnaie-16934.htm5 comments

Roman Empire, Constantius II Fallen Horseman, Constantinople 348-351 CE. Overweight specimen (7.67g, 25mm, 12h).Coin-in-hand video: LINK
Roman Imperial. Constantius II (Augustus, 337-361 CE) AE Centenionalis (7.67g, 25mm, 12h). Struck in Constantinople, 348-351.
Obv: D N CONSTANTIVS P F AVG. Pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust, surrounded by border of dots. Rev: FEL TEMP REPARATIO // Γ to left // CONSЄ* in exergue. Soldier standing left, holding long oval shield with circular boss, and spearing fallen horseman; bearded horseman astride fallen horse, turning and reaching back with left arm (FH3), wearing short-brimmed Scythian helmet, ornate tunic, and trousers. "Centering dot" between soldier and horse. Dotted border.
Ref: RIC 82-E, LRBC 2026; cf. RIC 81 (FH4). NVMMVS BIBLE II NBD N° 61536 (this coin; LINK).
Prov: Ex-Bertolami Fine Arts Auctions 37 (19 Sept 2017), Lot #689 (corr. RIC 81) & e-92 (2 Oct 2020), Lot 1554 (corr. weight as 7.70g, RIC 81).
Note: Based on the weight distribution provided for "Large AE2" in RIC VIII, only 2 of 405 specimens are as heavy or heavier than this one (7.7g & 8.2g). One Constantius Gallus Fallen Horseman weighing over 8.10g is reported in ACSearch (Roma 13, 939); Doug Smith has reported a 9.5g (!) Cyzicus FH in his collection, c. 1997.5 commentsCurtis JJ

Siliqua Constans IIsilique Constans II A/ D N CONS[TA]-NS P F AVG, buste diadémé (double rang de perles cabochon rond au sommet), drapé et cuirassé à droite, R/ VICTORI - A AAVGGG, Rome assise à gauche sur une cuirasse tenant une haste renversée et un globe nicéphore, [K]ONT à l’exergue – Arles – 410/411 – Ferrando 1561 – Ferrando II 1711 (R2) – RIC.1540 (R4)

http://www.nummus-bible-database.com/monnaie-18875.htm

Siliqua Eugeniussilique Eugène A/ D N EVGENI-VS P F AVG, buste barbu, diadémé (diadème de perles), drapé et cuirassé à droite, R/ [VRBS-ROMA], Rome assise a gauche sur une cuirasse, tenant un globe surmonté d’une victoire et une haste renversée, LVGP[S] à l’exergue – Lyon– 392/394 – RIC.46 (R) – Cohen 72 – 1,1 g

http://www.nummus-bible-database.com/monnaie-18136.htm

Siliqua Flavius VictorSilique Flavius Victor A/ D N FL VIC-TOR PF AVG buste diadémé-perlé drapé et cuirassé à droite, R/ VICTORIA – AVGVSTORVM, Victoire allant à gauche tenant une couronne et ine palme, AQPS à l’exergue – Aquilée – 383/388 - 1,30 g – RIC.53 b (R)

http://www.nummus-bible-database.com/monnaie-4331.htm

Siliqua Valentinian I Silique Valentinien Ier A/ [D N VALENT]INI-ANVS P F AVG, Buste diadémé, drapé et cuirassé à droite, R/ [RESTITVTOR] - REIPVBLICAE, L'Empereur debout de face tourné à droite, vêtu militairement, tenant un labarum de la main droite et un globe nicéphore de la main gauche, [NIKE] à l’exergue – Nicomédie – 364/367 – RIC.5 (R4)

http://www.nummus-bible-database.com/monnaie-16728.htm

Solidus Valentinien IISolidus Valentinien II A/ D N VALENTINI-ANVS P F AVG, buste diadémé, drapé et cuirassé à droite, R/ VICTOR-IA AVGG, Valentinien II et Théodose Ier diadémés, nimbés et vêtus de la robe consulaire assis de face sur un trône, tenant ensemble un globe ; derrière eux, la Victoire debout de face les ailes ouvertes, rameau entre eux sur la ligne d’exergue, T/R dans le champ, COM à l’exergue – Trèves – 388/392 – RIC.90 a (R) – NBD 15399 – 4,5 g

http://www.nummus-bible-database.com/monnaie-16933.htm

Syria, Arwad / Ruad (Arados, Phoenicia)Arwad, an island about 800 m long by 500 m wide, about 50 km north of Tripolis, was settled in the early 2nd millennium B.C. by the Phoenicians. Ancient Arados was an important trading city surrounded by a massive wall and an artificial harbor on the east side toward the mainland. Its powerful navy and ships are mentioned in the monuments of Egypt and Assyria. In the Bible, an "Arvad" is noted as the forefather of the "Arvadites," a Canaanite people. Arados ruled some neighboring cities on the mainland, such as Marat (present-day Amrit) and Sumur, the former nearly opposite the island and the latter some kilometers to the south and held hegemony over the northern Phoenician cities from the mouth of the Orontes to the northern limits of Lebanon, something like that of Sidon in the south. Under the Persians, Arwad was allowed to unite in a confederation with Sidon and Tyre, with a common council at Tripolis. When Alexander the Great invaded Syria in 332 B.C., Arados submitted without a struggle under her king Strato, who sent his navy to aid Alexander in the reduction of Tyre. The city received the favor of the Seleucid kings of Syria and enjoyed the right of asylum for political refugees. It is mentioned in a rescript from Rome about 138 B.C. in connection with other cities and rulers of the East, to show favor to the Jews. This was after Rome had begun to interfere in the affairs of Judea and Syria and indicates that Arwad was still of considerable importance at that time.

Photo by NASA.Joe Sermarini

TIBERIUS (14-37 AD), AR denarius, "Tribute Penny"Obverse- TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVSTVS, laureate head right.
Reverse- PONTIF MAXIM, Livia as Pax, seated right on throne with ornate legs, single line below, holding long scepter and olive branch.
RIC 30, 18 mm, 3.77 g.
NGC Ch F (Strike 4/5, Surface 3/5), cert. #4095350-002.
Ex-Michael Swoveland (aka "Aethelred") through private deal on Collectors Universe, January 2011. Purchased raw.
Comments: For Tiberius, one simply HAS to have the "Tribute Penny" of Biblical mention (Mark 12:15), right? Everybody knows these were circulating during the life, ministry, and crucifixion of Christ, so they're eternally popular and historically important. The Tribute penny from my original collection in 2007 came from Michael Swoveland, and by coincidence, when it came time to find another, I bought this one from him as well. It is of similar grade with my first one, though I like the toning on this one a bit better. Both were around the same price.2 commentslordmarcovan

Tiberius denariusTI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVSTVS
Laureate head of Tiberius right

PONTIF MAXIM
Livia seated right holding scepter and branch, legs on char ornamented, feet on footstool

Minted in India
Sear 1763, RIC 26

ex-Forum
Part of a hoard of nearly 200 Tiberius and Augustus denarii found in India produced and used for local trade. Some were struck, some cast. This specimen was cast

SOLD!Jay GT4

Tiberius RIC 0004Tiberius, 14-37 Denarius Lugdunum circa 15-16, AR (18.55 mm., 3.85 g).
Obv: TI CAESAR DIVI - AVG F AVGVSTVS Laureate head r.
Rev: TR POT XVII IMP VII Tiberius holding branch and eagle-tipped scepter in triumphal quadriga r.
RIC 4. C 48.
Ex: Naville Numismatics Auction #25 Lot #407 September 25, 2016

Tiberius was the third of "The Twelve Caesars" as described in the Lives of the Caesars by Suetonius. He is well known as the emperor who would groom the next emperor, Gaius (more commonly known as Caligula).The denarii of Tiberius are sometimes referred to as boring by some collectors. One reason is that there were only a few types of denarii issued. By far the most common is the one that many refer to as "The Tribute Penny" of the bible.It must be said however that there are minor variations in the design of the reverse on the Tribute Penny and there are collectors who try to get as many variations as possible. The denarius below is much less common.

The reverse is very similar to a reverse on a coin of Augustus. This coin features Augustus on the obverse and Tiberius on the reverse in a quadriga. These denarii of Tiberius do appear from time to time, but when they do there is quite a bit of competition for them as they represent an alternative denarius to the Tribute Penny.3 commentsorfew

Tiberius, 19 August 14 - 16 March 37 A.D., Tribute Penny of Matthew 22:20-21Jesus, referring to a "penny" asked, "Whose is this image and superscription?" When told it was Caesar, He said, ''Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's" (Matthew 22:20-21). Since Tiberius was Caesar at the time, this denarius type is attributed by scholars as the "penny" referred to in the Bible.

Silver Denarius, Giard Lyon, group 4, 150; RIC I 30 (C); BMCRE I 48; RSC II 16a; SRCV I 1763, VF, toned, bumps, scratches, edge chips, 3.356g, 17.5mm, 315o, Lugdunum (Lyon, France) mint, c. 18 - 35 A.D.; obverse TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVSTVS, laureate head right; reverse PONTIF MAXIM (high priest), Pax (or Livia as Pax) seated right on chair with decorated legs, a single line below, long scepter vertical behind in her right hand, branch in left hand, feet on footstool.

FORVM Ancient Coins / The Sam Mansourati Collection.1 commentsSam

Ulysses S. Grant 1871 Indian Peace MedalObv: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / "LET US HAVE PEACE" / LIBERTY JUSTICE AND EQUALITY, Bust of President Grant (18th President) facing right, peace pipe and olive branch below.

Rev: ON EARTH PEACE GOOD WILL TOWARD MEN, The globe set before the HOLY BIBLE and agricultural tools above the date, 1871.

Note: This was the only peace medal that did not include the name of the President.

Engraver: Anthony Paquet

Mint: Philadelphia, Date: 1871 (20th Century Restrike), Bronze, Diameter: 63 mmMatt Inglima

Victorian Holy BibleDate: AD 1850
Size: 5-1/4 x 3-1/2 in.

The Holy Bible containing the Old and New Testaments: Translated out of the original tongues; and with the former traslations diligently compared and revised, by His Majesty's Special Command.
Appointed to be read in churches.
LONDON: Printed by G.E. Eyre ad W. Spottiswoode, priters to the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, and sold at their warehouse, 189 Fleet Street.
M.DCCC.L.

CONDITION: Near Fine. The binding is intact with some signs of inner splitting. The hardcover is cobalt blue in color with a gilt rectangle design pattern on both the front and back. All page edges are gilt. A functional metal clasp keeps the Bible shut. 2 commentsNoah

[18H505] Herod Archelaus, Ethnarch 4 B.C. - 6 A.D.Herod Archelaus Prutah, Hendin 505, 17.9mm, 3.37 grams. VF/VF+, Reverse: Helmet; Obverse: Grapes, Heavy FULL weight, 4 B.C.E. - 6 C.E. A nice BOLD coin with a large flan and HEAVY weight. Ex Zuzim Judaea.

JUDEA: Bronze [prutah] of Herod Archelaus, 4 BC-AD 6. The obverse shows a bunch of grapes, with the name of Herod in Greek; the reverse has a helmet with cheek pieces, two crests (probably of horse's hair) on the left and on the right, and a small caduceus below (Banks, Florence Aiken. Coins of Bible Days. New York: Sandford J Durst Numismatics Publications, 1955. 86).

". . . the widow . . . . may have offered grape-and-helmet-adorned [prutah] of Herod Archelaus, the son of Herod the Great whose reign had inspired such fear in Joseph as to cause him to take Mary and the young child Jesus to Galilee instead of to Judea upon their return from Egypt (Banks, Florence Aiken. Coins of Bible Days. New York: Sandford J Durst Numismatics Publications, 1955. 97).

Son of Herod the Great, he inherited the southern part of his father's kingdom – Judaea, Samaria and Idumaea. Jerusalem was his capital. Augustus denied him the title king and gave him the title ethnarch, with a promise to name him king if he governed well. He was so unpopular with his subjects that Augustus deposed him, banished him to Gaul and annexed his territory (Joseph Sermarini).

Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.

Cleisthenes

[18H648] Pontius Pilate prefect for Tiberius Prutah, 29 BCPONTIUS PILATE PRUTAH, "SIMPULUM;" Hendin 648, AVF/VF, 15.3mm, 2.20 grams, struck 29 C.E. Nice round, good weight Pontius Pilate Prutah.

THE COINS OF PONTIUS PILATE
Jean-Philippe Fontanille

INTRODUCTION
They are not really beautiful, or truly rare, nor are they of very great monetary value. Yet these apparently modest coins carry in their weight an era and an act which would have immense consequence to the history of the world. Indeed, they are closely associated with three basic factors which saw the foundation of Christianity :
1 - The temporal proximity : Most modern experts agree in recognising that the year now designated 30 C.E. marked the trial and the death of Jesus. Given that time-frame, Pilate's coins were minted in 29, 30 and 31 C.E.
2 - The geographic proximity : The most credible hypothesis indicates that these particular coins where struck in Jerusalem, the city in which the significant events took place.
3 - The human proximity : Pontius Pilate himself designed and put the coins into circulation, and of course he was the man who conducted the trial and ordered the crucifixion of Jesus.

So it is that everyone, whether a believer or simply a lover of history or of numismatics, will find in these coins direct evidence of and witness to an episode the memory of which has survived 2000 years : A momentous event which has to a great extent fashioned the world we know.

Throughout this article we will also note the exceptional character of Pilate's coins: Exceptional in the nature of the images they bear, for the numerous variants they offer, for the presence of countermarks, and above all for the part their originator played in history. The putative appearance of these coins imprints on the Turin shroud has yet to be confirmed by more solid scientific proofs.

Pilate's coins are Roman coins, the words on them are Greek, they were circulated in Judea, and today they are to be found distributed among world-wide collectors after having spent 2000 years buried in the earth. They were minted and used during a period which produced an event destined to change the face of the world, and issued at the command of one of the principal actors in that event. An amazing and dramatic destiny for apparently such humble and unassuming little coins !

For 35 years Pilate's coins were passed from hand to hand every day. They knew the scent of spice-stalls, heard the merchants' ranting, smelled the sweat and dust of daily works. They were alive to the sounds of Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Latin voices ¬ now haggling over a price, now offering prayers to YHVH, Jesus or Jupiter.

Nobody prays to Jupiter any more [?], but Pilate's coins are surviving witnesses to a time when the first Christians were considered as a messianic sect among several others in the midst of Judaism in crisis. The absolute split between Judaism and Christianity took place from about 70 C.E, the year which marked the tragic ending of the first Jewish rebellion. It was from that time, too, that Pilate's money ceased to be used.

Like each one of us, who carries always a few small coins in the bottom of our pockets; there is no doubt that some of Pilate's coins resonated to the last words of the most famous of all supplicants. A very long story had its beginning...

2. MANUFACTURE AND CIRCULATION
LOCATION OF MINTS
Although the prefects had their residencies in Cesarea, the administrative capital of the province, it seems that their money was minted in Jerusalem. Indeed, a specimen dated year 31 has been found in this town in an incomplete state of manufacture.

DURATION OF USE
It would seem that Pilate's money was in current use for at least 35 years. Indeed, some of it has been discovered among other coins during the excavation of remains of dwellings destroyed by the Romans during the first Jewish revolt, which is evidence that they were still in use at that time.

AREA OF CIRCULATION
These coins circulated far beyond the frontiers of Judea. Some samples have been discovered as far away as Antioch in present-day Turkey, nearly 500 kilometres from Jerusalem where they were minted. Others have also been found in Jordan. These limits represent a circulation area of at least 100.000 square kilometres, that is five times larger than the size of the state of Israel. Taking into account that it was a time when distances were expressed in terms of days of march, one begins to see the important influence of these coins.

3. THE IMAGES AND THE TEXTS
THE SIMPULUM
A fairly frequent symbol from the Roman religion of the time, the simpulum was a utensil used by the priests during their religious ceremonies. This little ladle, provided with shaft and a handle, allowed the priests to taste the wine which they poured onto the head of an animal destined for sacrifice, after which the soothsayer was empowered to examine the animal's entrails for signs and portents sent to men by the Gods through the medium of the interpreter. As I pointed, none of this would have been obvious at first sight of the motif except perhaps to a Roman citizen. However, it throws some light on the theory put forward by F.A. Banks [Coins of the Bible Days].

This wasn't the first time that the simpulum appeared on Roman coins, but it is the first time it figured alone. This fact gives an additional specificity to Pilate's coins, not only in the context of Judea but also in comparison with all the other coins of the Empire.

THE THREE EARS OF BARLEY
The three ears or barley are featured on the opposing face of the simpulum. Unlike the simpulum, these ears of barley are not in contravention of the Jewish Law. The motif is nevertheless distinctive because it is the first time it appears on a Judean coin. The motif would reappear twelve years later on one of Herod Agrippa's coin, then on another, much rarer, of Agrippa II (ears of barley held in a hand). After that, the motif disappeared altogether from ancient Jewish coins.

THE LITUUS
The lituus was the wooden staff which the augurs held in the right hand; it symbolised their authority and their pastoral vocation. It was raised toward heavens while the priests invoked the Gods and made their predictions. Legend records that Romulus used it at the time of Rome's foundation in 753 B.C.E. It is interesting to note that the cross used in present times is the direct descendant of the lituus. As with the simpulum, Pilate's coinage is exceptional in that it alone displays the lituus as the sole object illustrated on the face.

THE WREATH
The laurel wreath is a symbol of power and victory, and figures on various ancient Greek and Roman coins. In Judea it can be found during the reign of John Hyrcanus I (134 to 104 B.C.E.). After that, Herod Antipas, speaker for Pilate, used it on all his coins. On Pilate's coins, the laurel wreath figures on the reverse side of the lituus, framing the date.

THE DATES
The notation of dates uses a code invented by the Greeks whereby each letter of the alphabet was assigned a number. This code would be used again in Judaism under the name of Guematria. The system is simple : the first ten letters of the alphabet are linked to units (1,2,3...), the following ten letters to tens (10,20,30...) and the four remaining letters to the first four hundreds. The "L" is an abbreviation meaning "year". Tiberius became emperor on September 17 of year 14 C.E, so we have :

LIS = Year 29 C.E. * LIZ = Year 30 C.E. * LIH = Year 31 C.E.

THE TEXTS
The legends on Pontius Pilate's coins are written in Greek. Judea, governed by the Ptolemy dynasty (301 to 198 B.C.E) then by the Syrians until 63 B.C.E, came under the same powerful influence of the Hellenic culture which touched the other territories of the ancient Persian Empire won by Alexander the Great. In spite of a certain amount of resistance, this Hellenistic heritage eventually crept into every aspect of daily life. Apart from the dates, the texts on Pilate's coinage consisted of only three different words : - TIBEPIOY KAICAPOC (Of Tiberius Emperor) on all three coins; - IOYLIA KAICAPOC (Empress Julia) added to the coin of year 29.
http://www.numismalink.com/fontanille1.html

Pontius Pilate
After the deposition of the eldest son of Herod, Archelaus (who had succeeded his father as ethnarch), Judea was placed under the rule of a Roman procurator. Pilate, who was the fifth, succeeding Valerius Gratus in A.D. 26, had greater authority than most procurators under the empire, for in addition to the ordinary duty of financial administration, he had supreme power judicially. His unusually long period of office (A.D. 26-36) covers the whole of the active ministry both of St. John the Baptist and of Jesus Christ.
As procurator Pilate was necessarily of equestrian rank, but beyond that we know little of his family or origin. Some have thought that he was only a freedman, deriving his name from pileus (the cap of freed slaves) but for this there seems to be no adequate evidence, and it is unlikely that a freedman would attain to a post of such importance. The Pontii were a Samnite gens. Pilate owed his appointment to the influence of Sejanus. The official residence of the procurators was the palace of Herod at Cæsarea; where there was a military force of about 3,000 soldiers. These soldiers came up to Jerusalem at the time of the feasts, when the city was full of strangers, and there was greater danger of disturbances, hence it was that Pilate had come to Jerusalem at the time of the Crucifixion. His name will be forever covered with infamy because of the part which he took in this matter, though at the time it appeared to him of small importance.
Pilate is a type of the worldly man, knowing the right and anxious to do it so far as it can be done without personal sacrifice of any kind, but yielding easily to pressure from those whose interest it is that he should act otherwise. He would gladly have acquitted Christ, and even made serious efforts in that direction, but gave way at once when his own position was threatened.
The other events of his rule are not of very great importance. Philo (Ad Gaium, 38) speaks of him as inflexible, merciless, and obstinate. The Jews hated him and his administration, for he was not only very severe, but showed little consideration for their susceptibilities. Some standards bearing the image of Tiberius, which had been set up by him in Jerusalem, caused an outbreak which would have ended in a massacre had not Pilate given way. At a later date Tiberius ordered him to remove certain gilt shields, which he had set up in Jerusalem in spite of the remonstrances of the people. The incident mentioned in St. Luke 13:1, of the Galilaeans whose blood Pilate mingled with the sacrifices, is not elsewhere referred to, but is quite in keeping with other authentic events of his rule. He was, therefore, anxious that no further hostile reports should be sent to the emperor concerning him.
The tendency, already discernible in the canonical Gospels, to lay stress on the efforts of Pilate to acquit Christ, and thus pass as lenient a judgment as possible upon his crime, goes further in the apocryphal Gospels and led in later years to the claim that he actually became a Christian. The Abyssinian Church reckons him as a saint, and assigns 25 June to him and to Claudia Procula, his wife. The belief that she became a Christian goes back to the second century, and may be found in Origen (Hom., in Mat., xxxv). The Greek Church assigns her a feast on 27 October. Tertullian and Justin Martyr both speak of a report on the Crucifixion (not extant) sent in by Pilate to Tiberius, from which idea a large amount of apocryphal literature originated. Some of these were Christian in origin (Gospel of Nicodemus), others came from the heathen, but these have all perished.
His rule was brought to an end through trouble which arose in Samaria. An imposter had given out that it was in his power to discover the sacred vessels which, as he alleged, had been hidden by Moses on Mount Gerizim, whither armed Samaritans came in large numbers. Pilate seems to have thought the whole affair was a blind, covering some other more important design, for he hurried forces to attack them, and many were slain. They appealed to Vitellius, who was at that time legate in Syria, saying that nothing political had been intended, and complaining of Pilate's whole administration. He was summoned to Rome to answer their charges, but before he could reach the city the Emperor Tiberius had died.
Catholic Encyclopedia: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12083c.htm

As the man who presided over the trial of Jesus, who found no fault with the defendant and washed his hands of the affair by referring it back to the Jewish mob, but who signed the final death warrant, Pontius Pilate represents almost a byword for ambivalence.
He appears in a poor light in all four Gospels and in a favourable light in the apocryphal Gospel of Peter where the Jews take all the blame for Jesus' death.
In the later Acts of Pilate, he is both cleared of responsibility for the Crucifixion and is said to have converted to Christianity.
In the drama of the Passion, Pilate is a ditherer who drifts towards pardoning Jesus, then drifts away again. He tries to pass the buck several times, makes the decision to save Jesus, then capitulates.
The former Archbishop of Canterbury, the late Robert Runcie once wrote, "It would have been better for the moral health of Christianity if the blame had stayed with Pilate."
In a poignant moment in the course of the trial, Pontius Pilate responds to an assertion by Jesus by asking "What is truth?"
The truth about Pilate is difficult to ascertain since records are few. Legends say he was a Spaniard or a German, but most likely he was a natural-born Roman citizen from central Italy.
But the fact that he was definitely the Procurator of Judea from 26 to 36 AD helps to establish Jesus as a real person and fixes him in time.
The official residence of the procurators was the palace of Herod at Caesarea, a mainly non-Jewish city where a force of some 3,000 Roman soldiers were based.
These would come to Jerusalem during the time of feasts when there was a greater danger of disturbances. This would explain Pilate's presence in the city during the time of the Crucifixion.
Pilate is recorded by several contemporary historians; his name is inscribed on Roman coins and on a stone dug up in Caesarea in the 1960s with the words, PONTIUS PILATUS PRAEFECTUS PROVINCIAE JUDAEAE.
The governorship of Judea was only a second-rate posting, though having the Jewish religious capital, Jerusalem, on its patch would have increased its importance.
Pilate ruled in conjunction with the Jewish authorities and was under orders from Emperor Tiberius, to respect their culture. He was a soldier rather than a diplomat.
The Jews relied on the Romans to keep their own rebellious factions under control. But they appeared to hate Pilate.
One contemporary Jewish historian Philo, describes him as a violent thug, fond of executions without trial. Another, Josephus, records that, at the start of his term, Pilate provoked the Jews by ordering the imperial standards to be carried into Jerusalem.
But he backed off from an all-out confrontation. On the other hand, later, he helped himself to Jewish revenues to build an aqueduct.
When, according to Josephus, bands of resistance fighters, supported by crowds of ordinary people, sabotaged the project by getting in the way of Pilate's workmen, he sent in his soldiers. Hundreds were massacred.
Anne Wroe, author of a recent book Pilate: the Biography of an Invented Man, says that for some modern scholars, given this propensity for violence when the occasion warranted, the idea of Pilate as a waverer is nonsense.
A Roman governor, they point out, would not have wasted two minutes thinking about a shabby Jewish villain, one among many. Wroe's depiction of Pilate, however, suggests he was something of a pragmatist.
His first duty was to keep the peace in Judea and to keep the revenues flowing back to Rome. "Should I have jeopardised the peace for the sake of some Jew who may have been innocent?", she has Pilate asking. "Should I have defied a furious crowd, maybe butchered them, to save one life?"
Whatever the truth about the real Pontius Pilate, such dilemmas are what he has come to symbolise.
Anne Wroe makes the modern comparisons of Neville Chamberlain in 1938. Bill McSweeney, of the Irish School of Ecumenics suggests that "without the Pilates of Anglo-Irish politics, we might never have had the Good Friday Agreement".
Tony Blair has said of Pilate: "It is possible to view Pilate as the archetypal politician, caught on the horns of a dilemma."
Even if, in reality, the Jesus affair was nothing but a small side-show in the career of Pontius Pilate, it had monumental repercussions for his image.
His inclusion in the Christian creeds, in the words of Robert Runcie, "binds the eternal realms to the stumbling, messy chronology of earthly time and place".
BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1273594.stm

The Ethiopian Church recognized Pilate as a saint in the sixth century, based on the account in the Acts of Pilate

Although historians can pinpoint the exact date of death of many distinguished historical figures, the date of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ remains a matter of scholarly debate. Christ’s birth is most often dated between 7-5 BC (some scholars have suggested, however, His birth was as early as 20 BC). Christ’s Death and Resurrection is dated between 29-36 AD.

Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.

Cleisthenes

[18H649] Pontius Pilate Prefect under Tiberius Prutah, "LIZ", 30 BCPONTIUS PILATE PRUTAH, 'LIZ;' Hendin 649, VF, 15.5mm, 1.90 grams. Struck 30 C.E. Nice historic coin.

THE COINS OF PONTIUS PILATE
Jean-Philippe Fontanille

INTRODUCTION
They are not really beautiful, or truly rare, nor are they of very great monetary value. Yet these apparently modest coins carry in their weight an era and an act which would have immense consequence to the history of the world. Indeed, they are closely associated with three basic factors which saw the foundation of Christianity :
1 - The temporal proximity : Most modern experts agree in recognising that the year now designated 30 C.E. marked the trial and the death of Jesus. Given that time-frame, Pilate's coins were minted in 29, 30 and 31 C.E.
2 - The geographic proximity : The most credible hypothesis indicates that these particular coins where struck in Jerusalem, the city in which the significant events took place.
3 - The human proximity : Pontius Pilate himself designed and put the coins into circulation, and of course he was the man who conducted the trial and ordered the crucifixion of Jesus.

So it is that everyone, whether a believer or simply a lover of history or of numismatics, will find in these coins direct evidence of and witness to an episode the memory of which has survived 2000 years : A momentous event which has to a great extent fashioned the world we know.

Throughout this article we will also note the exceptional character of Pilate's coins: Exceptional in the nature of the images they bear, for the numerous variants they offer, for the presence of countermarks, and above all for the part their originator played in history. The putative appearance of these coins imprints on the Turin shroud has yet to be confirmed by more solid scientific proofs.

Pilate's coins are Roman coins, the words on them are Greek, they were circulated in Judea, and today they are to be found distributed among world-wide collectors after having spent 2000 years buried in the earth. They were minted and used during a period which produced an event destined to change the face of the world, and issued at the command of one of the principal actors in that event. An amazing and dramatic destiny for apparently such humble and unassuming little coins !

For 35 years Pilate's coins were passed from hand to hand every day. They knew the scent of spice-stalls, heard the merchants' ranting, smelled the sweat and dust of daily works. They were alive to the sounds of Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Latin voices ¬ now haggling over a price, now offering prayers to YHVH, Jesus or Jupiter.

Nobody prays to Jupiter any more [?], but Pilate's coins are surviving witnesses to a time when the first Christians were considered as a messianic sect among several others in the midst of Judaism in crisis. The absolute split between Judaism and Christianity took place from about 70 C.E, the year which marked the tragic ending of the first Jewish rebellion. It was from that time, too, that Pilate's money ceased to be used.

Like each one of us, who carries always a few small coins in the bottom of our pockets; there is no doubt that some of Pilate's coins resonated to the last words of the most famous of all supplicants. A very long story had its beginning...

2. MANUFACTURE AND CIRCULATION
LOCATION OF MINTS
Although the prefects had their residencies in Cesarea, the administrative capital of the province, it seems that their money was minted in Jerusalem. Indeed, a specimen dated year 31 has been found in this town in an incomplete state of manufacture.

DURATION OF USE
It would seem that Pilate's money was in current use for at least 35 years. Indeed, some of it has been discovered among other coins during the excavation of remains of dwellings destroyed by the Romans during the first Jewish revolt, which is evidence that they were still in use at that time.

AREA OF CIRCULATION
These coins circulated far beyond the frontiers of Judea. Some samples have been discovered as far away as Antioch in present-day Turkey, nearly 500 kilometres from Jerusalem where they were minted. Others have also been found in Jordan. These limits represent a circulation area of at least 100.000 square kilometres, that is five times larger than the size of the state of Israel. Taking into account that it was a time when distances were expressed in terms of days of march, one begins to see the important influence of these coins.

3. THE IMAGES AND THE TEXTS
THE SIMPULUM
A fairly frequent symbol from the Roman religion of the time, the simpulum was a utensil used by the priests during their religious ceremonies. This little ladle, provided with shaft and a handle, allowed the priests to taste the wine which they poured onto the head of an animal destined for sacrifice, after which the soothsayer was empowered to examine the animal's entrails for signs and portents sent to men by the Gods through the medium of the interpreter. As I pointed, none of this would have been obvious at first sight of the motif except perhaps to a Roman citizen. However, it throws some light on the theory put forward by F.A. Banks [Coins of the Bible Days].

This wasn't the first time that the simpulum appeared on Roman coins, but it is the first time it figured alone. This fact gives an additional specificity to Pilate's coins, not only in the context of Judea but also in comparison with all the other coins of the Empire.

THE THREE EARS OF BARLEY
The three ears or barley are featured on the opposing face of the simpulum. Unlike the simpulum, these ears of barley are not in contravention of the Jewish Law. The motif is nevertheless distinctive because it is the first time it appears on a Judean coin. The motif would reappear twelve years later on one of Herod Agrippa's coin, then on another, much rarer, of Agrippa II (ears of barley held in a hand). After that, the motif disappeared altogether from ancient Jewish coins.

THE LITUUS
The lituus was the wooden staff which the augurs held in the right hand; it symbolised their authority and their pastoral vocation. It was raised toward heavens while the priests invoked the Gods and made their predictions. Legend records that Romulus used it at the time of Rome's foundation in 753 B.C.E. It is interesting to note that the cross used in present times is the direct descendant of the lituus. As with the simpulum, Pilate's coinage is exceptional in that it alone displays the lituus as the sole object illustrated on the face.

THE WREATH
The laurel wreath is a symbol of power and victory, and figures on various ancient Greek and Roman coins. In Judea it can be found during the reign of John Hyrcanus I (134 to 104 B.C.E.). After that, Herod Antipas, speaker for Pilate, used it on all his coins. On Pilate's coins, the laurel wreath figures on the reverse side of the lituus, framing the date.

THE DATES
The notation of dates uses a code invented by the Greeks whereby each letter of the alphabet was assigned a number. This code would be used again in Judaism under the name of Guematria. The system is simple : the first ten letters of the alphabet are linked to units (1,2,3...), the following ten letters to tens (10,20,30...) and the four remaining letters to the first four hundreds. The "L" is an abbreviation meaning "year". Tiberius became emperor on September 17 of year 14 C.E, so we have :

LIS = Year 29 C.E. * LIZ = Year 30 C.E. * LIH = Year 31 C.E.

THE TEXTS
The legends on Pontius Pilate's coins are written in Greek. Judea, governed by the Ptolemy dynasty (301 to 198 B.C.E) then by the Syrians until 63 B.C.E, came under the same powerful influence of the Hellenic culture which touched the other territories of the ancient Persian Empire won by Alexander the Great. In spite of a certain amount of resistance, this Hellenistic heritage eventually crept into every aspect of daily life. Apart from the dates, the texts on Pilate's coinage consisted of only three different words : - TIBEPIOY KAICAPOC (Of Tiberius Emperor) on all three coins; - IOYLIA KAICAPOC (Empress Julia) added to the coin of year 29.
http://www.numismalink.com/fontanille1.html

Pontius Pilate
After the deposition of the eldest son of Herod, Archelaus (who had succeeded his father as ethnarch), Judea was placed under the rule of a Roman procurator. Pilate, who was the fifth, succeeding Valerius Gratus in A.D. 26, had greater authority than most procurators under the empire, for in addition to the ordinary duty of financial administration, he had supreme power judicially. His unusually long period of office (A.D. 26-36) covers the whole of the active ministry both of St. John the Baptist and of Jesus Christ.
As procurator Pilate was necessarily of equestrian rank, but beyond that we know little of his family or origin. Some have thought that he was only a freedman, deriving his name from pileus (the cap of freed slaves) but for this there seems to be no adequate evidence, and it is unlikely that a freedman would attain to a post of such importance. The Pontii were a Samnite gens. Pilate owed his appointment to the influence of Sejanus. The official residence of the procurators was the palace of Herod at Cæsarea; where there was a military force of about 3,000 soldiers. These soldiers came up to Jerusalem at the time of the feasts, when the city was full of strangers, and there was greater danger of disturbances, hence it was that Pilate had come to Jerusalem at the time of the Crucifixion. His name will be forever covered with infamy because of the part which he took in this matter, though at the time it appeared to him of small importance.
Pilate is a type of the worldly man, knowing the right and anxious to do it so far as it can be done without personal sacrifice of any kind, but yielding easily to pressure from those whose interest it is that he should act otherwise. He would gladly have acquitted Christ, and even made serious efforts in that direction, but gave way at once when his own position was threatened.
The other events of his rule are not of very great importance. Philo (Ad Gaium, 38) speaks of him as inflexible, merciless, and obstinate. The Jews hated him and his administration, for he was not only very severe, but showed little consideration for their susceptibilities. Some standards bearing the image of Tiberius, which had been set up by him in Jerusalem, caused an outbreak which would have ended in a massacre had not Pilate given way. At a later date Tiberius ordered him to remove certain gilt shields, which he had set up in Jerusalem in spite of the remonstrances of the people. The incident mentioned in St. Luke 13:1, of the Galilaeans whose blood Pilate mingled with the sacrifices, is not elsewhere referred to, but is quite in keeping with other authentic events of his rule. He was, therefore, anxious that no further hostile reports should be sent to the emperor concerning him.
The tendency, already discernible in the canonical Gospels, to lay stress on the efforts of Pilate to acquit Christ, and thus pass as lenient a judgment as possible upon his crime, goes further in the apocryphal Gospels and led in later years to the claim that he actually became a Christian. The Abyssinian Church reckons him as a saint, and assigns 25 June to him and to Claudia Procula, his wife. The belief that she became a Christian goes back to the second century, and may be found in Origen (Hom., in Mat., xxxv). The Greek Church assigns her a feast on 27 October. Tertullian and Justin Martyr both speak of a report on the Crucifixion (not extant) sent in by Pilate to Tiberius, from which idea a large amount of apocryphal literature originated. Some of these were Christian in origin (Gospel of Nicodemus), others came from the heathen, but these have all perished.
His rule was brought to an end through trouble which arose in Samaria. An imposter had given out that it was in his power to discover the sacred vessels which, as he alleged, had been hidden by Moses on Mount Gerizim, whither armed Samaritans came in large numbers. Pilate seems to have thought the whole affair was a blind, covering some other more important design, for he hurried forces to attack them, and many were slain. They appealed to Vitellius, who was at that time legate in Syria, saying that nothing political had been intended, and complaining of Pilate's whole administration. He was summoned to Rome to answer their charges, but before he could reach the city the Emperor Tiberius had died.
Catholic Encyclopedia: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12083c.htm

As the man who presided over the trial of Jesus, who found no fault with the defendant and washed his hands of the affair by referring it back to the Jewish mob, but who signed the final death warrant, Pontius Pilate represents almost a byword for ambivalence.
He appears in a poor light in all four Gospels and in a favourable light in the apocryphal Gospel of Peter where the Jews take all the blame for Jesus' death.
In the later Acts of Pilate, he is both cleared of responsibility for the Crucifixion and is said to have converted to Christianity.
In the drama of the Passion, Pilate is a ditherer who drifts towards pardoning Jesus, then drifts away again. He tries to pass the buck several times, makes the decision to save Jesus, then capitulates.
The former Archbishop of Canterbury, the late Robert Runcie once wrote, "It would have been better for the moral health of Christianity if the blame had stayed with Pilate."
In a poignant moment in the course of the trial, Pontius Pilate responds to an assertion by Jesus by asking "What is truth?"
The truth about Pilate is difficult to ascertain since records are few. Legends say he was a Spaniard or a German, but most likely he was a natural-born Roman citizen from central Italy.
But the fact that he was definitely the Procurator of Judea from 26 to 36 AD helps to establish Jesus as a real person and fixes him in time.
The official residence of the procurators was the palace of Herod at Caesarea, a mainly non-Jewish city where a force of some 3,000 Roman soldiers were based.
These would come to Jerusalem during the time of feasts when there was a greater danger of disturbances. This would explain Pilate's presence in the city during the time of the Crucifixion.
Pilate is recorded by several contemporary historians; his name is inscribed on Roman coins and on a stone dug up in Caesarea in the 1960s with the words, PONTIUS PILATUS PRAEFECTUS PROVINCIAE JUDAEAE.
The governorship of Judea was only a second-rate posting, though having the Jewish religious capital, Jerusalem, on its patch would have increased its importance.
Pilate ruled in conjunction with the Jewish authorities and was under orders from Emperor Tiberius, to respect their culture. He was a soldier rather than a diplomat.
The Jews relied on the Romans to keep their own rebellious factions under control. But they appeared to hate Pilate.
One contemporary Jewish historian Philo, describes him as a violent thug, fond of executions without trial. Another, Josephus, records that, at the start of his term, Pilate provoked the Jews by ordering the imperial standards to be carried into Jerusalem.
But he backed off from an all-out confrontation. On the other hand, later, he helped himself to Jewish revenues to build an aqueduct.
When, according to Josephus, bands of resistance fighters, supported by crowds of ordinary people, sabotaged the project by getting in the way of Pilate's workmen, he sent in his soldiers. Hundreds were massacred.
Anne Wroe, author of a recent book Pilate: the Biography of an Invented Man, says that for some modern scholars, given this propensity for violence when the occasion warranted, the idea of Pilate as a waverer is nonsense.
A Roman governor, they point out, would not have wasted two minutes thinking about a shabby Jewish villain, one among many. Wroe's depiction of Pilate, however, suggests he was something of a pragmatist.
His first duty was to keep the peace in Judea and to keep the revenues flowing back to Rome. "Should I have jeopardised the peace for the sake of some Jew who may have been innocent?", she has Pilate asking. "Should I have defied a furious crowd, maybe butchered them, to save one life?"
Whatever the truth about the real Pontius Pilate, such dilemmas are what he has come to symbolise.
Anne Wroe makes the modern comparisons of Neville Chamberlain in 1938. Bill McSweeney, of the Irish School of Ecumenics suggests that "without the Pilates of Anglo-Irish politics, we might never have had the Good Friday Agreement".
Tony Blair has said of Pilate: "It is possible to view Pilate as the archetypal politician, caught on the horns of a dilemma."
Even if, in reality, the Jesus affair was nothing but a small side-show in the career of Pontius Pilate, it had monumental repercussions for his image.
His inclusion in the Christian creeds, in the words of Robert Runcie, "binds the eternal realms to the stumbling, messy chronology of earthly time and place".
BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1273594.stm

The Ethiopian Church recognized Pilate as a saint in the sixth century, based on the account in the Acts of Pilate

Although historians can pinpoint the exact date of death of many distinguished historical figures, the date of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ remains a matter of scholarly debate. Christ’s birth is most often dated between 7-5 BC (some scholars have suggested, however, His birth was as early as 20 BC). Christ’s Death and Resurrection is dated between 29-36 AD.

Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.
1 commentsCleisthenes

[18H650] Pontius Pilate prefect for Tiberius Prutah, 31 BCPONTIUS PILATUS PRUTAH. Hendin 650, aVF, 14.3mm, 1.94 grams. Minted 31 C.E. FULL "LIH" Date, (H partially hidden behind pretty patina can be revealed.)

THE COINS OF PONTIUS PILATE
Jean-Philippe Fontanille

INTRODUCTION
They are not really beautiful, or truly rare, nor are they of very great monetary value. Yet these apparently modest coins carry in their weight an era and an act which would have immense consequence to the history of the world. Indeed, they are closely associated with three basic factors which saw the foundation of Christianity :
1 - The temporal proximity : Most modern experts agree in recognising that the year now designated 30 C.E. marked the trial and the death of Jesus. Given that time-frame, Pilate's coins were minted in 29, 30 and 31 C.E.
2 - The geographic proximity : The most credible hypothesis indicates that these particular coins where struck in Jerusalem, the city in which the significant events took place.
3 - The human proximity : Pontius Pilate himself designed and put the coins into circulation, and of course he was the man who conducted the trial and ordered the crucifixion of Jesus.

So it is that everyone, whether a believer or simply a lover of history or of numismatics, will find in these coins direct evidence of and witness to an episode the memory of which has survived 2000 years : A momentous event which has to a great extent fashioned the world we know.

Throughout this article we will also note the exceptional character of Pilate's coins: Exceptional in the nature of the images they bear, for the numerous variants they offer, for the presence of countermarks, and above all for the part their originator played in history. The putative appearance of these coins imprints on the Turin shroud has yet to be confirmed by more solid scientific proofs.

Pilate's coins are Roman coins, the words on them are Greek, they were circulated in Judea, and today they are to be found distributed among world-wide collectors after having spent 2000 years buried in the earth. They were minted and used during a period which produced an event destined to change the face of the world, and issued at the command of one of the principal actors in that event. An amazing and dramatic destiny for apparently such humble and unassuming little coins !

For 35 years Pilate's coins were passed from hand to hand every day. They knew the scent of spice-stalls, heard the merchants' ranting, smelled the sweat and dust of daily works. They were alive to the sounds of Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Latin voices ¬ now haggling over a price, now offering prayers to YHVH, Jesus or Jupiter.

Nobody prays to Jupiter any more [?], but Pilate's coins are surviving witnesses to a time when the first Christians were considered as a messianic sect among several others in the midst of Judaism in crisis. The absolute split between Judaism and Christianity took place from about 70 C.E, the year which marked the tragic ending of the first Jewish rebellion. It was from that time, too, that Pilate's money ceased to be used.

Like each one of us, who carries always a few small coins in the bottom of our pockets; there is no doubt that some of Pilate's coins resonated to the last words of the most famous of all supplicants. A very long story had its beginning...

2. MANUFACTURE AND CIRCULATION
LOCATION OF MINTS
Although the prefects had their residencies in Cesarea, the administrative capital of the province, it seems that their money was minted in Jerusalem. Indeed, a specimen dated year 31 has been found in this town in an incomplete state of manufacture.

DURATION OF USE
It would seem that Pilate's money was in current use for at least 35 years. Indeed, some of it has been discovered among other coins during the excavation of remains of dwellings destroyed by the Romans during the first Jewish revolt, which is evidence that they were still in use at that time.

AREA OF CIRCULATION
These coins circulated far beyond the frontiers of Judea. Some samples have been discovered as far away as Antioch in present-day Turkey, nearly 500 kilometres from Jerusalem where they were minted. Others have also been found in Jordan. These limits represent a circulation area of at least 100.000 square kilometres, that is five times larger than the size of the state of Israel. Taking into account that it was a time when distances were expressed in terms of days of march, one begins to see the important influence of these coins.

3. THE IMAGES AND THE TEXTS
THE SIMPULUM
A fairly frequent symbol from the Roman religion of the time, the simpulum was a utensil used by the priests during their religious ceremonies. This little ladle, provided with shaft and a handle, allowed the priests to taste the wine which they poured onto the head of an animal destined for sacrifice, after which the soothsayer was empowered to examine the animal's entrails for signs and portents sent to men by the Gods through the medium of the interpreter. As I pointed, none of this would have been obvious at first sight of the motif except perhaps to a Roman citizen. However, it throws some light on the theory put forward by F.A. Banks [Coins of the Bible Days].

This wasn't the first time that the simpulum appeared on Roman coins, but it is the first time it figured alone. This fact gives an additional specificity to Pilate's coins, not only in the context of Judea but also in comparison with all the other coins of the Empire.

THE THREE EARS OF BARLEY
The three ears or barley are featured on the opposing face of the simpulum. Unlike the simpulum, these ears of barley are not in contravention of the Jewish Law. The motif is nevertheless distinctive because it is the first time it appears on a Judean coin. The motif would reappear twelve years later on one of Herod Agrippa's coin, then on another, much rarer, of Agrippa II (ears of barley held in a hand). After that, the motif disappeared altogether from ancient Jewish coins.

THE LITUUS
The lituus was the wooden staff which the augurs held in the right hand; it symbolised their authority and their pastoral vocation. It was raised toward heavens while the priests invoked the Gods and made their predictions. Legend records that Romulus used it at the time of Rome's foundation in 753 B.C.E. It is interesting to note that the cross used in present times is the direct descendant of the lituus. As with the simpulum, Pilate's coinage is exceptional in that it alone displays the lituus as the sole object illustrated on the face.

THE WREATH
The laurel wreath is a symbol of power and victory, and figures on various ancient Greek and Roman coins. In Judea it can be found during the reign of John Hyrcanus I (134 to 104 B.C.E.). After that, Herod Antipas, speaker for Pilate, used it on all his coins. On Pilate's coins, the laurel wreath figures on the reverse side of the lituus, framing the date.

THE DATES
The notation of dates uses a code invented by the Greeks whereby each letter of the alphabet was assigned a number. This code would be used again in Judaism under the name of Guematria. The system is simple : the first ten letters of the alphabet are linked to units (1,2,3...), the following ten letters to tens (10,20,30...) and the four remaining letters to the first four hundreds. The "L" is an abbreviation meaning "year". Tiberius became emperor on September 17 of year 14 C.E, so we have :

LIS = Year 29 C.E. * LIZ = Year 30 C.E. * LIH = Year 31 C.E.

THE TEXTS
The legends on Pontius Pilate's coins are written in Greek. Judea, governed by the Ptolemy dynasty (301 to 198 B.C.E) then by the Syrians until 63 B.C.E, came under the same powerful influence of the Hellenic culture which touched the other territories of the ancient Persian Empire won by Alexander the Great. In spite of a certain amount of resistance, this Hellenistic heritage eventually crept into every aspect of daily life. Apart from the dates, the texts on Pilate's coinage consisted of only three different words : - TIBEPIOY KAICAPOC (Of Tiberius Emperor) on all three coins; - IOYLIA KAICAPOC (Empress Julia) added to the coin of year 29.
http://www.numismalink.com/fontanille1.html

Pontius Pilate
After the deposition of the eldest son of Herod, Archelaus (who had succeeded his father as ethnarch), Judea was placed under the rule of a Roman procurator. Pilate, who was the fifth, succeeding Valerius Gratus in A.D. 26, had greater authority than most procurators under the empire, for in addition to the ordinary duty of financial administration, he had supreme power judicially. His unusually long period of office (A.D. 26-36) covers the whole of the active ministry both of St. John the Baptist and of Jesus Christ.
As procurator Pilate was necessarily of equestrian rank, but beyond that we know little of his family or origin. Some have thought that he was only a freedman, deriving his name from pileus (the cap of freed slaves) but for this there seems to be no adequate evidence, and it is unlikely that a freedman would attain to a post of such importance. The Pontii were a Samnite gens. Pilate owed his appointment to the influence of Sejanus. The official residence of the procurators was the palace of Herod at Cæsarea; where there was a military force of about 3,000 soldiers. These soldiers came up to Jerusalem at the time of the feasts, when the city was full of strangers, and there was greater danger of disturbances, hence it was that Pilate had come to Jerusalem at the time of the Crucifixion. His name will be forever covered with infamy because of the part which he took in this matter, though at the time it appeared to him of small importance.
Pilate is a type of the worldly man, knowing the right and anxious to do it so far as it can be done without personal sacrifice of any kind, but yielding easily to pressure from those whose interest it is that he should act otherwise. He would gladly have acquitted Christ, and even made serious efforts in that direction, but gave way at once when his own position was threatened.
The other events of his rule are not of very great importance. Philo (Ad Gaium, 38) speaks of him as inflexible, merciless, and obstinate. The Jews hated him and his administration, for he was not only very severe, but showed little consideration for their susceptibilities. Some standards bearing the image of Tiberius, which had been set up by him in Jerusalem, caused an outbreak which would have ended in a massacre had not Pilate given way. At a later date Tiberius ordered him to remove certain gilt shields, which he had set up in Jerusalem in spite of the remonstrances of the people. The incident mentioned in St. Luke 13:1, of the Galilaeans whose blood Pilate mingled with the sacrifices, is not elsewhere referred to, but is quite in keeping with other authentic events of his rule. He was, therefore, anxious that no further hostile reports should be sent to the emperor concerning him.
The tendency, already discernible in the canonical Gospels, to lay stress on the efforts of Pilate to acquit Christ, and thus pass as lenient a judgment as possible upon his crime, goes further in the apocryphal Gospels and led in later years to the claim that he actually became a Christian. The Abyssinian Church reckons him as a saint, and assigns 25 June to him and to Claudia Procula, his wife. The belief that she became a Christian goes back to the second century, and may be found in Origen (Hom., in Mat., xxxv). The Greek Church assigns her a feast on 27 October. Tertullian and Justin Martyr both speak of a report on the Crucifixion (not extant) sent in by Pilate to Tiberius, from which idea a large amount of apocryphal literature originated. Some of these were Christian in origin (Gospel of Nicodemus), others came from the heathen, but these have all perished.
His rule was brought to an end through trouble which arose in Samaria. An imposter had given out that it was in his power to discover the sacred vessels which, as he alleged, had been hidden by Moses on Mount Gerizim, whither armed Samaritans came in large numbers. Pilate seems to have thought the whole affair was a blind, covering some other more important design, for he hurried forces to attack them, and many were slain. They appealed to Vitellius, who was at that time legate in Syria, saying that nothing political had been intended, and complaining of Pilate's whole administration. He was summoned to Rome to answer their charges, but before he could reach the city the Emperor Tiberius had died.
Catholic Encyclopedia: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12083c.htm

As the man who presided over the trial of Jesus, who found no fault with the defendant and washed his hands of the affair by referring it back to the Jewish mob, but who signed the final death warrant, Pontius Pilate represents almost a byword for ambivalence.
He appears in a poor light in all four Gospels and in a favourable light in the apocryphal Gospel of Peter where the Jews take all the blame for Jesus' death.
In the later Acts of Pilate, he is both cleared of responsibility for the Crucifixion and is said to have converted to Christianity.
In the drama of the Passion, Pilate is a ditherer who drifts towards pardoning Jesus, then drifts away again. He tries to pass the buck several times, makes the decision to save Jesus, then capitulates.
The former Archbishop of Canterbury, the late Robert Runcie once wrote, "It would have been better for the moral health of Christianity if the blame had stayed with Pilate."
In a poignant moment in the course of the trial, Pontius Pilate responds to an assertion by Jesus by asking "What is truth?"
The truth about Pilate is difficult to ascertain since records are few. Legends say he was a Spaniard or a German, but most likely he was a natural-born Roman citizen from central Italy.
But the fact that he was definitely the Procurator of Judea from 26 to 36 AD helps to establish Jesus as a real person and fixes him in time.
The official residence of the procurators was the palace of Herod at Caesarea, a mainly non-Jewish city where a force of some 3,000 Roman soldiers were based.
These would come to Jerusalem during the time of feasts when there was a greater danger of disturbances. This would explain Pilate's presence in the city during the time of the Crucifixion.
Pilate is recorded by several contemporary historians; his name is inscribed on Roman coins and on a stone dug up in Caesarea in the 1960s with the words, PONTIUS PILATUS PRAEFECTUS PROVINCIAE JUDAEAE.
The governorship of Judea was only a second-rate posting, though having the Jewish religious capital, Jerusalem, on its patch would have increased its importance.
Pilate ruled in conjunction with the Jewish authorities and was under orders from Emperor Tiberius, to respect their culture. He was a soldier rather than a diplomat.
The Jews relied on the Romans to keep their own rebellious factions under control. But they appeared to hate Pilate.
One contemporary Jewish historian Philo, describes him as a violent thug, fond of executions without trial. Another, Josephus, records that, at the start of his term, Pilate provoked the Jews by ordering the imperial standards to be carried into Jerusalem.
But he backed off from an all-out confrontation. On the other hand, later, he helped himself to Jewish revenues to build an aqueduct.
When, according to Josephus, bands of resistance fighters, supported by crowds of ordinary people, sabotaged the project by getting in the way of Pilate's workmen, he sent in his soldiers. Hundreds were massacred.
Anne Wroe, author of a recent book Pilate: the Biography of an Invented Man, says that for some modern scholars, given this propensity for violence when the occasion warranted, the idea of Pilate as a waverer is nonsense.
A Roman governor, they point out, would not have wasted two minutes thinking about a shabby Jewish villain, one among many. Wroe's depiction of Pilate, however, suggests he was something of a pragmatist.
His first duty was to keep the peace in Judea and to keep the revenues flowing back to Rome. "Should I have jeopardised the peace for the sake of some Jew who may have been innocent?", she has Pilate asking. "Should I have defied a furious crowd, maybe butchered them, to save one life?"
Whatever the truth about the real Pontius Pilate, such dilemmas are what he has come to symbolise.
Anne Wroe makes the modern comparisons of Neville Chamberlain in 1938. Bill McSweeney, of the Irish School of Ecumenics suggests that "without the Pilates of Anglo-Irish politics, we might never have had the Good Friday Agreement".
Tony Blair has said of Pilate: "It is possible to view Pilate as the archetypal politician, caught on the horns of a dilemma."
Even if, in reality, the Jesus affair was nothing but a small side-show in the career of Pontius Pilate, it had monumental repercussions for his image.
His inclusion in the Christian creeds, in the words of Robert Runcie, "binds the eternal realms to the stumbling, messy chronology of earthly time and place".
BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1273594.stm

The Ethiopian Church recognized Pilate as a saint in the sixth century, based on the account in the Acts of Pilate

Although historians can pinpoint the exact date of death of many distinguished historical figures, the date of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ remains a matter of scholarly debate. Christ’s birth is most often dated between 7-5 BC (some scholars have suggested, however, His birth was as early as 20 BC). Christ’s Death and Resurrection is dated between 29-36 AD.

Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.

Cleisthenes

LINK TO COINJAMES VI (1567 - 1625)
James VI acceded to the throne of Scotland when only 1 year old on his mother's abdication in 1567. A council of regency was established and his good education was largely due to George Buchanan. He married Anne of Denmark in 1589. The death of Elizabeth I left James as her nearest heir and he inherited the throne of England in 1603 and ruled both England and Scotland until his death in 1625. Following the gunpowder plot of 1605 James ordered severe sanctions against Roman Catholic priests and it was during his reign that the King James, or "authorised" version of the Bible, still used today, was first published.
*Alex

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