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!