I recently purchased a copy of A Numismatic Journey Through the Bible by Rev. Richard Plant.  It was copyrighted in 2007 .  There are no photographs in this book but instead there are plenty of illustrations of the various coins.  Also each coin drawing gives an estimated cost if you go seeking a “Very Fine” (VF) copy for your collection.  I was able to obtain a new copy of the book for $24.

This book is very broad in scope, meaning that it covers ancient, medieval and modern coins.  Even though the overall scope is massive the bulk of the book will focus on the New Testament era.  The 5th Chapter will take you on a walk through the lands of Galilee, Samaria, Judaea and the Decapolis with coins for each city mentioned.

What I found most helpful is that the author wants to help you actually read what is written on the coins. You will get an overview of the Hebrew, Latin and Greek alphabet as well as key words that will repeat on coins. Plus there is a section on how the “alphabet” is used as “numerals” so that we can understand the dates minted on many coins.

I found a copy of Coins and Christianity by Kenneth Jacob at a Coin Show.  It was first copyrighted in 1959 but the copy I have is a later “revised and enlarged”edition from 1985.  I kind of chuckled when I read that because the book is only 5″ x 7″  and 1/2″ thick, so I wonder what was its size before it was “enlarged? ”  I was able to obtain a new looking copy for $15.

This small book covers a lot of territory. It goes from the beginning of coinage right through to the modern era in 91 pages.  The focus of the book is to explore Christian symbols as they appear on coins throughout the centuries. Since there are no Christian symbols on coins until the Battle of the Milvian Bridge the Chapter on Coins of the Bible is rather short.  I personally am not focusing my collection on this later Roman era but if this is where your collection interests lie then this book is for you. 

I did find out that Biblical Coin coin collecting was very popular in the 16th century. At that time they misidentified the Jewish First revolt coins  (circa 66-71 AD) to have been from an earlier time period (136 BC).  They minted copies of the coins and told a story that these were the coins used to pay the 30 pieces of silver to Judas. They were popularly called the “Judas Pennies.”  They are crudely made so there is no fear today that these are still on the market and seen as “authentic.”

I found a copy of Coins of Bible Days by Florence Aiken Banks at a Coin Show.  It was copyrighted in 1955 but the copy I have is a later reprinted edition.  I was able to obtain a used copy for $20.

The book, though very small is very broad in scope. It starts with money issues before coinage and then walks you right through to the New Testament years.  It is a book that can be read cover to cover or just let each chapter tell you a story about one era in history and the coins used at that time. At the end of each chapter there are photos of some of the coins described in that section.

This book helped me to begin understanding the translation problems we have in the New Testament when it comes to coins. Translators have often chosen not to use the actual word found in the original Greek text because it could be confusing to the reader. Rather they will substitute words like “penny,” “mite,” “farthing,” etc, in an effort to help the reader move through the passage smoothly. However, over time, these English words also took on different meanings and as a result further confuse our understanding of the type coin(s) being talked about.

The back of the book contains a glossary that is helpful in understanding the pronunciation of many of the names of people,  cities, Greek & Roman gods/goddesses, etc, that one will encounter when dealing with coins from this time period. I now know that I have been mispronouncing the Emperor “Domitian” wrong for years!

This book, Coins of the Bible by Arthur Friedberg is readily available in different editions. The particular edition I purchased caught my eye because there are six replica coins embedded in the front cover of the book.  Since then I have also seen this book offered with a different style cover. I was able to get a used copy for $9.00.

Even though the title of the book is “Coins of the Bible” it really focuses on the New Testament era.  There is some mention of the money used before that time but primarily the text explores the coinage just before the time of Jesus, during his lifetime and then during the time the New Testament is being written.  There are plenty of photographs of coins to help the reader understand what is being explained in each section. 

What I found helpful from this book was the overview information about the various taxes that existed during this era.  I was familiar with the Temple Tax and the Tribute tax to Caesar but this I find was only the tip of the iceberg.  The overview given on this topic encouraged me to explore further this issue of taxation and all that the peasants had to face in their daily life.

Another issue that the book notes is that the Jewish Procurator coins do not use Roman denomination standards but rather the size and weight standards of coins minted in Judea. There is noted in the text one exception to this. The author calls the coins of the procurator Porcius Festus “quadrans” which is a Roman denomination. I have not found this particular reference to Festus’s coins as “quadrans” in any other book, but if it is true that these are truly “quadrans,” and not “prutahs,” then there was a significant shift in Roman policy in Judea at that time. I will keep an eye out for more information about this!

I have already mentioned in previous posts David Hendin’s book: Guide to Biblical Coins and if you begin to get serious about collecting this type of coinage this is the text you need. But if you just want to do some background reading on the topic I will mention in my next posts some books that I have found helpful when it comes to Biblical Coins.

James Lovette’s book is called Biblical Related Coins.  I have only seen hardcover copies and you can find it offered for around $25.  This book contains three chapters. Chapter 1: Deals with coins from PLACES in the Bible. Chapter 2: Deals with coins of PEOPLE mentioned in the Bible. Chapter 3: Is titled “THINGS” but actually deals with a variety of issues – more like “Themes” such as various coin denominations, Jewish Revolt coins, various types of tax and coins used to pay them, etc.  It was this book that helped me understand some of the many different types of coins possible for an individual scripture text.

I should note that this is not a book you would “read” from cover to cover.   It is more like a collection of information about hundreds of different topics and each section is supported with photos of coins that fit with the text.

On page 199 Lovette gives some ideas for collecting. Let me mention a few that piqued my interest when I was first getting into this hobby.

• Jewish Rulers — Family Lines (example Herod & sons)
• Roman Procurators of Judea
• Roman Emperors during the Biblical period
• Jewish Revolt coins
• Judea Capta Coins
• Widow’s Mite possibilities
• “30 pieces of silver” possibilities
• Coins from each place visited by Paul

The style of this gold coin should be very familiar. It is similar to the silver denarius coin that is commonly referred to as the “Tribute Penny.”  This coin has a scratch mark through the portrait of Tiberius showing that someone was making sure it was not a counterfeit. It also has a bankers mark - in this case a “c” above the head of Tiberius. Bankers marks were put on to verify that the coin was authentic. There are many different types of bankers marks, some are letters and others are symbols. 

I should note that some New Testament translations will make reference to gold coins in Luke 19:13.  The actual word used in this text  is “minas.”   A “mina” is not a coin denomination nor is it specifically a reference to gold.  It is a weight and is meant to represent the amount of silver found in 50 shekels.  (Side note here: I have also seen references that say a “mina” equals 60 shekels and in another place equals a 100 drachmas – I am not sure if the weight ratio changed over time and will continue to read more about this and update this post as I find out more information)

Ruler: Tiberius
Date: 14-37AD
Denomination: Aureus
Obverse: Tiberius r.
Reverse: Livia
Reference: Sear 1760