“Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's.” Matthew 22:21. All three synoptic gospels explain that the questioners were trying to trap Jesus, probably into an act of tax resistance in the vein of the Zealot Party, whereby they could accuse him of encouraging criminal evasion. The enigmatic answer Jesus gives has been analyzed time and again, in a variety of ways, by a variety of thinkers. Wiki actually does a decent job of summarizing the significant interpretations, from the separation of church and state to Christian Anarchism, see here. You might be familiar with the debate over which type the Tribute Penny may have been. Collectors have mostly agreed on these denarii of Tiberius, but other viable candidates include Antiochan tetradrachms with busts of Tiberius and Augustus, and even denarii issued by Augustus during his reign, but perhaps still in circulation. I can’t go into all of that here, but if you want an instructive scholarly discussion on the matter, click this thread at FORVM. Incidentally, the coin is colloquially called a “penny” because that was what the English called small silver coins in the 17th century, ergo that was the word used in the King James translation. The word in the original Greek text is δηνάριον - dēnarion. This is the quintessential Biblical coin, and even many collectors of moderns seek them out, in addition to people that don’t really collect coins at all. I have a VF+ example for sale today, engraved in an elegant style, with pristine surfaces, a centered strike that captures all of the lettering, and touches of gold toning. You can compare it to coins at CNG here, and vcoins here. $595 shipped if payment by paypal, or $575 shipped if payment by postal money order. (It's a good deal - the coin would cost you at least $700 on vcoins, see the link above.) PM me if interested. Tiberius, AD 14-37 AR Denarius, 20mm, 3.8g, 6h; Lugdunum mint, AD 36-37. Obv.: TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVSTVS; Laureate bust right. Rev.: PONTIF MAXIM; Livia (as Pax) seated right on throne with ornate legs, holding long scepter and olive branch, single line below chair. Reference: RIC I 30, p. 95.
