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HOME :
Jewish Coins :
Numismatic Masterpieces : Bronze Coin Minted Under Valerius Gratus, Roman Procurator of Judea
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Bronze Coin Minted Under Valerius Gratus, Roman Procurator of Judea - C.0452
Origin: Judean Hills, Israel
Circa: 17
AD
to 26
AD
Catalogue: V25
Collection: Numismatics
Medium: Bronze
Additional Information: SOLD
$750.00
Location: United States
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| Description |
Obverse: Vine Leaf on Branch
Reverse: Kantharos with Scroll Handles,
Inscription "KAICAP" (Ceasar) Above,
Date "Year
4" (17 A.D.)
Valerius Gratus served as procurator of
Roman
occupied Judea from 15-26 A.D.
Appointed by
Emperor Tiberius, his service, lasting
almost a
dozen years, was the longest reign of
any Roman
procurator in Judea. It was during this
period
that the seeds of growing Jewish unrest
were
sown, and Jesus worked as an obscure
carpenter
in Galilee. As the procurator, Valerius
was in
charge of the religious affairs of his
subjects, the
Jews, which included appointing the high
priests
to the Temple. Valerius issued coins
during the
majority of the duration of his service.
His coins,
like all those minted by Roman
procurators (with
the exception of Pontius Pilate),
featured no
symbols that were utterly abhorrent to
the Jews.
Two of his favored symbols were the palm
branch, a traditional symbol for the
abundance
of Judea that was also utilized by the
Roman for
their “Judea Capta” series commemorating
the
occupation of ancient Israel, and grapes
or the
grape vine, an important staple of the
Judean
economy that also had a religious
significance as
a ritual offering.
How many hands have touched a coin in
your
pocket or your purse? What eras and
lands have
the coin traversed on its journey into
our
possession? As we reach into our
pockets to pull
out some change, we rarely hesitate to
think of
who touched the coin before us, or where
the
coin will venture to after us. More
than money,
coins are a symbol of the state that
struck them,
of a specific time and place, whether
contemporary currencies or artifacts of
a long
forgotten empires. This stunning hand-
struck
coin reveals an expertise of
craftsmanship and
intricate sculptural details that are
often lacking
in contemporary machine-made currencies.
The
struggle of the Jewish people to rule
their
homeland, as represented by this coin,
has finally
come to an end in modern times. This
coin
reconnects us with the past, with those
who
fought and struggled for their freedom
against
an oppressive Empire almost two thousand
year
ago.
- (C.0452)
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