A bronze prutah of Valerius Gratus, procurator of Judea under Tiberius

Obv.: Vine branch with leaf, tendril and small bunch of grapes; above it, Greek inscription [IOYΛI]A (Julia). Rev.: Amphora with two handles; across field, the date L Δ (year four).
17 C.E, 2.27 grams, 17 mm, axis 6. Cf. Ya'akov Meshorer, A Treasury of Jewish Coins (New York 2001), pl. 74, no. 326
Herod's son who ruled in Jerusalem, Archelaus, was incompetent so the Romans appointed governors, termed procurators.  Most of them, with the exception of Pontius Pilate, respected Jewish religious sensitivities and struck coins with neutral motifs, drawn largely from the seven agricultural species of Israel.