Ancient Rome Prutah of Pontius Pilate (Counterfeit) 26AD to 36AD

Tara sent us this picture of her fascinating coin. It is, of course, very unusual for people like Tara, who is, no doubt, normal. We not-quite-normal coin collectors recognize this as a copy of an ancient Roman coin from the rule of Pontius Pilate under Tiberius Caesar. Pontius Pilate was the Roman governor of Judea when Jesus Christ lived there. Pilate sentenced Jesus to crucifixion and then, troubled, washed his hands of the matter (Matthew 27:24). Because of this connection with the Bible, coins of Pontius Pilate are especially interesting.

The recognized expert on coins of Pontius Pilate is Jean-Philippe Fontanille of MenorahCoin.com in Montreal. Jean-Philippe has let us use one of his pictures of a genuine Pontius Pilate prutah and you can readily see the difference between the real item (with the black background) and Tara's replica.

A genuine coin like this sells retail in the range of $50 to $250, depending on the state of preservation and several other factors. Tara's replica is a nice conversation piece, but it carries no numismatic (coin collector) value, and only small value as a novelty item.

The patterns on this coin are called Barley and Simpulum. The barley is recognizable; a simpulum is a type of ladle used in Roman pagan sacrifices.
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