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

A bronze prutah of Valerius Gratus, procurator of Judea under Tiberius
Obv.: Greek inscription in wreath IOY/ ΛIA (Julia). Rev.: Laurel branch flanked by the date L B – year two (of Tiberius). 15 C.E, 1.84 grams, 16¼ mm, axis 9. Cf. Ya’akov Meshorer, A Treasury of Jewish Coins (New York 2001), pl. 73, no. 317. 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.