That's the newest star I could find in my recent folders. It's said to reveal the birth of Jesus and guide the Magi to the sacred cave of Bethlehem. The anonymous coin seems still in raw red mud but looks beautiful though. Hope you enjoy it a bit on the merry season. It weighs 7.32 g.
IONIA, MILETOS AE17 OBVERSE: Head of Apollo right REVERSE: Lion right, head reverted, star above Struck at Miletos 350-300 BC 4.69g, 17mm Lindgren 513
STAR: (obv and rev) Campania Capua 216-214 BCE Æ Uncia 20.5mm 6.1g Laur hd Jupiter R star value l Victory trophy star value R Monete 21 HN Italy 493 Notes: When Hannibal occupied Capua during the Second Punic War, he worked with the local Aristocracy and promised to make Capua the capital of Italia, and would raze Rome, once he destroyed the Romans. However, history was different from his promises. After the Punic War, Rome confiscated and tried to destroy all Capuan coinage minted during this time. They wanted to destroy any memory of Hannibal, and to further punish Capua. Consequently, Hannibal occupied coinage from Capua seems difficult to find.
Stars were common on ancient and modern coins as well. But some coins with a ram and a star on reverse are presumed to represent the star of Bethlehem. They often have a date in Greek on reverse. For instance, the letter Delta followed by M refers surely to a date by the time of Roman Emperor Tiberius, when Jesus was active in Israel. There are many researches as well as serious and nearly confirmed studies and deductions in this respect.
Given that there is little agreement on when or even whether there was such a star, I'm kinda skeptical that this is what these coins represent...
I'm pretty short on stars, here's one ... Ionia, Miletos, Late 6th- early 4th century BC. 1/12th Stater (1.2 gm, 10.5mm). Obv.: Forepart of lion left with head reverted right. Rev.: Starlike floral design in square incuse. SNG Helsinki II 285.
I don't have any star of Bethlehem coins. Here is a coin that I believe depicts two comets. Paphlagonia, Sinope. circa 120-100 BC, Æ15, 4.58g. Obv: Winged and draped bust (of Mithradites or Perseus?) right. Rev: [Σ]INΩΠHΣ. Cornucopia flanked by piloi surmounted by stars (or comets?). Ref: Lindgren and Kovacs 91, SNG Black Sea 1520-, SNG Stancomb 791. In the year Mithridates was born, comets appeared in the constellation of Pegasus. Justinus, a 4th-century historian, reports that “it burned so brightly for 70 days that the entire sky seemed to be on fire.” In 119 BCE, when the 15-year-old Mithridates deposed his mother and seized the throne for himself, another comet appeared. Justin's account of the two comets was based on lost history by Pompeius Trogus whose uncle, a cavalry officer from the Vocontian tribe of Gaul, fought in the Mithradatic wars. There are several coins of Mithridates depicting "stars", sometimes with curved tails. Some of them are believed to illustrate the comets. This particular design is said to depict "caps of the Dioscuri" and not usually connected with the comets. To me the comet connection seems obvious. This bust could be the teenage Mithridates, immediately upon seizing the throne of Pontus.
My starriest coin: Faustina Jr, AD 161-175 Roman AR denarius; 3.14 g, 17 mm Rome, AD 176 or later Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA PIA, bare-headed and draped bust right Rev: CONSECRATIO, crescent moon around large star, surrounded by six stars Refs: RIC 750; BMCRE 718; Cohen 83; RCV 5219; MIR 63; CRE 172.
The reverse is all star... THRACE Chersonesos Æ10 1.0g 386-309 BCE Roaring lion head - Star of five rays SNG BM Black Sea 726 SNG Stancomb 463
The type has been discussed before: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/star-of-bethlehem-roman-provincial.284634/ I feel that linking this issue to Christianity is just, well, faith! Its a pretty new idea, I am not aware of any scholar or dealer who agrees.
Here is more information on the type than I could handle: http://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/data/cartwright/Star of Bethlehem Coins.pdf
