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During the first half of the First Century A.D.,
following the exile of King Herod Archelaus,
Judea was ruled by a series of Procurators
appointed by the Rome. The lands of Ancient
Israel were annexed to the Roman province of
Syria, with the administration centered in the city
of Caesarea. Some of the Procurators, such as
Antonius Felix, struck their own coins. Although
these coins were technically minted under Roman
authority, they take into account the religious
beliefs of the Jewish population and display no
graven images, lest the rebellious population be
offended. Felix ruled from 52-59 A.D., although
he only minted coins during two of those years.
Today, Felix is perhaps best remembered as the
Procurator before who St. Paul was brought to
trial. "And after certain days, when Felix came
with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewess, he sent
for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in
Christ." - Acts 24:27
The coins of Antonius Felix are intimate
memorials of Ancient Israel. They knew the scent
of spice-stalls, heard the ranting or 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. This coin is a
memorial to one of the most fabled times words
have recorded, when the Jewish people struggled
to be free from Roman occupation and when the
teachings of the Jesus Christ were spread by the
first Saints. We can still feel the power of these
events resonate in the energy of this ancient
coin.
- (C.10282)
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