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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;dougsmit, post: 1061769, member: 19463&quot;]The Tribute Penny question is one that can not be discussed without trampling on toes and violating list rules regarding religious description.&nbsp; The arguements for and against any particular denarius type are all based on assumptions and reading passages that were not written for numismatic purposes.&nbsp; The fact remains that the Tiberius coin has long been identified with the Bible passage and bears the additional demand of Christian collectors who want a &#039;coin of the Bible&#039;.&nbsp; As a result, the single most common first century silver coin sells for more than it might otherwise.&nbsp; The second choice coin of Augustus shown above also gets a boost in this market because it depicts the Caesar Augustus of the Nativity story.&nbsp; Collectors want coins that link to familiar history and coin sellers are more than willing to cooperate.&nbsp; </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>As I type this I&#039;m half-watching a show on the History Channel <i><b>Secrets of Christianity: Selling Christianity</b></i> on the question of the relation between Constantine and Christianity coming to the Empire.&nbsp;&nbsp; The show is, again, undiscussable without bordering on religious toe trampling.&nbsp;&nbsp; I would suggest everyone watch it and compare its presentation with coin evidence you have seen.&nbsp; Good questions beget more good questions and very rarely easy answers.&nbsp; Just like the Tribute Penny, several coins of the Constantinian period come with links to history and the Christian conversion of the Empire.&nbsp; Are they collectible for this purpose.&nbsp; I say yes.&nbsp; What I really believe is that there is no simple answer to the Tribute Penny question or the Constantine conversion question but a well informed collector wishing to illustrate these matters needs a number of coins (&#039;a collection&#039;) selected to show the &#039;big picture&#039; rather than just giving an easy answer of more than slightly flawed accuracy.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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