I obtained a first edition copy of David Hendin’s  2005 book,  Not Kosher, directly from him and as a bonus it was autographed! 

The book gives an overview of some of the known modern forgeries of ancient Jewish and Biblical coins.  It is important to make a distinction here.  The coins in this book are ones that were made recently and not to be confused with ancient counterfeit (fouree) coins which are quite collectible.  This book mostly presents coins that are copies of actual ancient coins but many fantasy coins are listed as well.  Fantasy coins are ones that someone created to look like they are authentic but do not match any known ancient coin. Each coin in the book is described in detail and there are numerous photographs. In some cases the coin has also been magnified to help see the details.

If you are dealing with a knowledgeable ancient coin dealer the topic of modern ancient forgeries will not surface. But if you find coins from another source, especially a person who is not familiar with ancient coins, problems can arise. There are coins that were made as museum gift shop replicas. These usually have the word COPY on them but of course that could be removed from the coin.   There are also coins that are made to deceive the buyer into thinking they are genuine.  Again the key is the source of your coin and the knowledge of the one selling it.  To help prevent some of these problems this book is a wonderful guide.

I was able to obtain a copy of Biblical Numismatics by Shirley Barr Page.  It was printed in 2001. In her introduction she notes that she became interested in Bible coins after reading Florence Banks’ book, Coins of Bible Days that I posted on 6/18/09.

This is a very large coffee-table style book that is filled with color photographs with each coin greatly enlarged.  It is divided into three sections: Old Testament Period; Intertestamental Period and New Testament Period.  The overall style is clear: a coin is presented and quickly described and then placed in historical context. Each coin becomes a story in itself so you can easily just jump around the book reading “short stories.” 

The first section – The Old Testament Period- also contains a section on artifacts.  You can see various oil lamps and stone shekel weights.  These items can often also be obtained through coin dealers at prices similar in range to what you would pay for ancient coins.  So if you begin a collection of Biblical Coins you can easily add an artifact or two without having to travel to Israel!

The Intertestamental Period- by making this a separate category it opens up a wide range of coins.  This section will contain Greek coins, Phoenician coins, Seleucid Kingdom coins and Ptolemaic Dynasty coins.  The depth of this section is a real highlight of this book because you get an understanding of the larger world at the time.

The New Testament Period- Here we have coins of the Herodian Dynasty, Procurators of Judea, the Roman Empire and the Revolt of the Jews coins. This section closes with coins in the lifetime of Jesus Christ. Following this last section there are a number of color plate pages showing even more examples of some of the coins already described.

I found a copy of A Handy Guide to Jewish Coins by Rev. Edgar Rogers on the Internet.  It was copyrighted in 1914 but the copy I have is a later reprinted edition from 1977.  I was able to obtain a hardcover copy for $35.

The book is both an interesting read and a catalogue of coin information.  Each chapter tells a little story about the era and the coins that go with it, for example, the Hashmonean Family (his spelling), the Herodian Family, Procurators, Second Revolt, etc.  There are photos of the coins in the back of the book.  Rogers is not neutral in style in presenting his options and more than once I smiled as I read him going off on his argument about a particular coin or a particular biblical word translation.

I should note that concerning at least one particular issue he was incorrect. I really cannot blame him because for many years a series of coins that are now attributed to the First Revolt (66-71 AD) were erroneously attributed by most authors as being the first Jewish coins minted (circa 164 BC). Rogers then takes on Theodore Reinach, who wrote a book called “Jewish Coins,”  who he says holds that these particular coins are to be attributed to the First Revolt and then gives a long series of reasons as to why Reinach has to be wrong.  Alas over time, it was discovered that these were First Revolt coins after all.

What I found most helpful about this book is the detailed information about the inscriptions found on the coins. With this handy guide you will be able to understand the individual letters of the Hebrew and Greek legends.  Together with detailed information about the symbols on the coins it is an impressive text and no wonder that it is still being reprinted.