A bronze prutah of Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea under Tiberius

A bronze prutah of Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea under Tiberius
Obv.: Simpulum surrounded by Greek inscription [TIB]EPIOY KAICAPOC L [Iς] (of Tiberius Caesar, year 16). Rev.: Three ears of grain tied together, surrounded by inscription [IOY]ΛIA KAICAPOC (of Julia Caesaris). 29 C.E. 2.19 grams, 15¾ mm, axis 12. Cf. Ya’akov Meshorer, A Treasury of Jewish Coins (New York 2001), pl. 74, no. 331. 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.