Copper, 24 mm
O: Tripod, holding ceremonial vessel
R: Helmet surmounted by star
This coin is believed to be struck c. 40 BC, after Herod was proclaimed
ruler of Judea by Rome, but before he and the Romans toppled the Hasmoneans
and captured Jerusalem (37 BC).
Copper, 14 mm.
O: Anchor. Greek inscription "of King Herod".
R: Double Cornucopia with caduceus between.
Copper, 12 mm.
O: Eagle standing to right.
R: Cornucopia. Greek inscription "of King Herod".
When Herod was done restoring the Temple in Jerusalem, he affixed a
golden eagle to the Temple gate. That eagle is shown on this coin,
the first coin issued by a Jewish ruler with a graven image upon it.
Herod I was made king of Judea by the Roman Senate (40 BC) and ruled
from Jerusalem after 37 BC, following the defeat of the last of the Hasmonean
Dynasty (descendants of Judah the Maccabee).
Herod was of Idumaean descent, his family converted to Judaism a few
generations before. As such, he was fundamentally different from
the bulk of his Jewish subjects, and ruled entirely by the authority of
Rome. An imperious king and capable general, Herod promoted Hellenization
among the Jews. He was the first Jewish ruler to issue coins with
inscriptions entirely in Greek. He founded the city of Caesaria and
rebuilt much of Jerusalem, including the Temple. He was notoriously
cruel, and executed three of his sons and his second wife. It is
said that when Augustus heard about the executions,
he exclaimed, "It is better to be Herod's pig than his son!" In the
New Testament, Herod is depicted ordering the slaughter of newborn children
of Bethlehem ("slaughter of the innocents") in his attempt to kill the
the newborn Jesus.