Obverse, [IUYLIA KAICAPOP] encircling three
bound
heads of barley, the outer two drooping; reverse,
TIBEPIOY KAICAPOC encircling Simpulum (a
libation
ladle) and date “LIS.”
Pontius Pilate, most famously known for being
the
judge who sentenced Jesus to death was the
Procurator of Judea from AD 26- 36. While much
literature, both ancient and modern, portrays him
as
infamous and incompetent, it may be fairer to
say
he was a complex man beleaguered by
extraordinary circumstances in a difficult time.
The
Romans dominated the world in which Jesus
lived,
although Rome did make concessions to the
sensibilities of other cultures. This powerful coin
is a
case in point, showing three ears of barley bound
together. Out of respect for Jewish sensitivity
regarding graven images, coins depicted “still
life”
subjects such as palm branches, cornucopia, etc.
The poignant beauty of this coin matches the
simple
faith of the most pious. It is a memorial to one of
the most momentous eras in history, when
Roman
paganism, Judaism, and the nascent faith of
Christianity all intermingled in the same land.The
coins of Pontius Pilate were circulated in Ancient
Israel for over thirty years. They knew the scent
of
spice-stalls, heard the ranting of merchants, and
smelled the sweat and dust of daily works. They
were alive to the sounds of Hebrew, Aramaic,
Greek
and Latin voices haggling over prices in the
marketplaces or offering prayers to YHVH, Jesus,
or
Jupiter in temples. Holding this work in our
hands,
we are transported back in history to one of the
most fabled times words have recorded, when
the
Jewish people struggled to be free from Roman
occupation and when the Lord Jesus Christ walk
the
earth, was tried, and executed. We can still feel
the
power of these events resonate in the energy of
this
ancient coin.
- (C.10270)
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