I have a denarius of Augustus with Caius and Lucius on the reverse, but was wondering what true ancient collectors and experts considered the Tribute Penny from the Bible? Do you believe it to be the Roman Denarius depicting Tiberius, the coin I have or some other coin from that era? I would also like to know of other coins from the Bible other than the Lipton Mite. Thanks in advance for help. Kent
A good article & debate regarding it. http://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Tribute Penny
The tribute penny typically is a denarius, (a penny in the bible was referring to the small silver coin used in England, in older translations they actually said denarius), that was current at the time Jesus said this. He talked about "Caesar". Well, that was most likely either Augustus or Tiberius. People say its a Tiberius since that who was emperor at the time, but there is no real way of knowing if the coin he held was Augustus or Tiberius. Augustus ruled a long time, so most denari in circulation would have been his actually.
If you have a kindle http://www.amazon.co.uk/Numismatic-...423677824&sr=8-1&keywords=richard+plant+bible
True, he goes over them, but I also feel he has a vested interest in trying to make as many possible coins "biblically related" so I believe he overreaches, especially his later editions. Widow's mites are simply the smallest denomination coin in circulation. The "mite" was a tiny copper Dutch coin in circulation when the King James version was written. Older Bibles reference a lepton specifically, and that is what it is. A tiny coin, last struck about 80 years before Jesus but still in circulation at the time. Also "biblical" are the thirty pieces of silver Judas was paid. The only silver used and accepted by the temple was Shekels of Tyre. However, these were also restruck in Jerusalem during Jesus' lifetime.
I know most of you don't know me but those on here that do know I collect (hoard) about any kind of coin there is with Jefferson Nickels being the one I am trying to specialize or know the most about. I know Jeffs are so common most people don't even fool with them but for some reason those and Lincoln Cents have always been my passion. I really enjoy collecting and learning and this site has been almost an addiction to me because of the beautiful pictures and the way knowledge is shared so freely and backed up with facts. I never fear posting a question about something I don't know because you folks are more than ready to help out. I appreciate your replies and will read every link you post. I don't collect ancients as much as I try to just find interesting pieces that appeal to me the same as with US coins and tokens. I buy a lot of numismatic items strictly because I got them for a good price and did enough research about the item and the seller to know I have a good piece. I really enjoy looking at the ancients and if y'all have album pages or registry's I would love to view them. Thanks again for the replies and feel free to message me anytime with more information, links and pictures of your coins. I have made some good cyber friends on CT and would be glad to include any of y'all as well. Thanks Again Kent
Careful. Ancients can be addictive. Ask just about any one of us and we'll tell you the tale of how we collected US or some other coinage and then bought our first Ancient. The rest is history as they say. I agree with your sentiments. This is perhaps the friendliest forum on the internet. I've been here for a couple of years now and I still learn something new just about every day.
Honestly.. I'm starting to feel this. I mean being an addict to ancient coin collecting ant researching. I wondered that maybe ancient coins are a vast, wide and endless domain. It's also challenging and promising at the same time. Whatever you collect, you could always convince yourself that you have History and money in your hands. That's just mere talk or what?.. I don't know.. Soon I'll have friends as well. This is maybe the great humane win.
I can assure you I haven't bought an ancient coin without showing someone on here first to get an opinion. Even if they snipe me I don't care I'm asking first buying later LOL
About two or three decades ago I read a short book about coins of the Bible (which I can't quite find now) that said that coin finds in Palestine were something like 12 times more likely to have the denarii of Augustus rather than Tiberius. If you look through your change now you will likely find coins that are 20 or 30 years old. When I was a kid in the early 60's I had silver dollars in my pocket that dated back to 1878. Circulation takes a while. Until fairly recently in Britain, the abbreviation for "penny" was "d" which of course stood for denarius. Thus an apt translation for denarius would have been "penny."
Two facts you can deny if you must: 1. The Tiberius coin is the one that carries the add-on demand from people who want a coin to go with the Bible story. You can prove to your satisfaction anything you wish and you will not change the association of that one coin with the story (real word for word or a parable). The Tiberius has been the Tribute Penny of the numismatic trade long enough that any degree of science or truth will not be able to change it. 2. There are two very separate taxes that seem to get confused here. Every Jewish male was required to pay a tax to the temple of one didrachm or half a tetradrachm. This supported the Jewish Temple activities and was not collected from non-Jews. Augustus changed the tax structure for money owed to Rome collected from Provincials but this money was completely separate from the Jewish tax and was paid according to a person's wealth on top of a 'head tax' based on the number of people in the Province. I do not know what form this money was paid in but it would not have been limited to the Tyrian silver required by the Temple. This is discussed here: http://www.unrv.com/economy/roman-taxes.php Do note that the hated wealth tax was 1%. I do not know what the tax per person was. I rather suspect that there were other taxes not mentioned here that supported the king, local government and extortionists of any kind so I have no good idea on how oppressive or light was the burden on a guy like me in the First Century AD. The only tax referencing coin I am aware of is the RCC quadrans of Caligula honoring his repeal of a 1/200th tax. In general, the emperors owned property (like all of Eqypt) and gave donatives to the poorer citizens. Taxes were on Provincials and rich people. I do not know how people 'prove' that a certain coin was or was not in a certain hand at any given time but all this makes no difference unless your religious views require the story to be literal rather than a parable (a literary form much used by Jesus).
I've got EIC for three kids, a fourth in college, and my wife is also in school, so I get credits galore. As well I should - kids are fantastically expensive, not to mention wives.
There used to be a saying when I was on active duty: "If the Army had wanted you to have a wife or kids, they would have issued you one". I don't get many credits. Maybe I should rent a kid or two for a VERY short period to confuse the IRS (somehow I don't think they will buy it).
