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Valerius Gratus served as procurator of Roman occupied
Judea from 15-26 A.D. Appointed by Emperor Tiberius,
his service, lasting almost a dozen years, was the longest
reign of any Roman procurator in Judea. It was during this
period that the seeds of growing Jewish unrest were
sown, and Jesus worked as an obscure carpenter in
Galilee. As the procurator, Valerius was in charge of the
religious affairs of his subjects, the Jews, which included
appointing the high priests to the Temple. Valerius issued
coins during the majority of the duration of his service.
His coins, like all those minted by Roman procurators
(with the exception of Pontius Pilate), featured no symbols
that were utterly abhorrent to the Jews. Two of his
favored symbols were the palm branch, a traditional
symbol for the abundance of Judea that was also utilized
by the Roman for their “Judea Capta” series
commemorating the occupation of ancient Israel, and
grapes or the grape vine, an important staple of the
Judean economy that also had a religious significance as
a ritual offering.
How many hands have touched a coin in your pocket or
your purse? What eras and lands have the coin traversed
on its journey into our possession? As we reach into our
pockets to pull out some change, we rarely hesitate to
think of who touched the coin before us, or where the
coin will venture to after us. More than money, coins are a
symbol of the state that struck them, of a specific time
and place, whether contemporary currencies or artifacts
of a long forgotten empires. This stunning hand-struck
coin reveals an expertise of craftsmanship and intricate
sculptural details that are often lacking in contemporary
machine-made currencies. The struggle of the Jewish
people to rule their homeland, as represented by this coin,
has finally come to an end in modern times. This coin
reconnects us with the past, with those who fought and
struggled for their freedom against an oppressive Empire
almost two thousand year ago.
- (C.0716)
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