Ariel and
Fontanille maintain that 38/37 BCE was the year of the minting. They argue that the coins were minted right before Herod's capture of Jerusalem at a travelling
mint. They reject Meshorer's hypothesis that the dating starts from Herod's
tetrarchy since inter alia Herod's
tetrarchy may have in fact begun in 41/40 BCE, reference to Herod's
tetrarchy after
his coronation would have offended the senate and during this time in Herod's career, he was "not as self-confident as
Meshorer made him out to be." (pp. 90-92)
They later suggest the
monogram on Herod's earliest coins were the mark of some
mint magistrate (pp. 124-126).