A bronze coin of Herod the Great, mint of Samaria

A bronze coin of Herod the Great, mint of Samaria
Obv.: Crested helmet in profile with cheek piece surrounded by Greek inscription HPΩΔOY BAΣ[IɅ]EΩΣ LΓ (of king Herod, year three). Rev.: Decorated shield. 40 B.C.E 3.8 grams, 19 mm, Cf. Ya’akov Meshorer, A Treasury of Jewish Coins (New York 2001), pl. 44, no. 45b. The Herodian dynasty founded by Herod the Great the ultimate political animal had a number of rulers, the most Jewish of them being Agrippa I. The coins struck by Herod himself were in accordance with Jewish religious sensitivities. Likewise his son Archelaus and his grandson Agrippa struck coins with symbols compatible with Judaism. By way of contrast Agrippa like his brother Antipas and son Agrippa II struck coins with portraits and pagan motifs for his gentile subjects.