Coins of the Bible
"Coins of the Bible" was the outcome of a project to create an interesting conference giveaway. The booth had several archaeological artifacts on display. Our idea was to provide collector coins as a giveaway and I was tasked with designing the pouch to hold each coin.
Each coin we were using had a biblical story in which they were used. The concept was to create an image that would make you think of the story when the coin and the illustraion were combined.
Denarius
"Give unto Caesar what is Caesar‘s and to God what is God‘s" (Mark 12:14-17) is a quote given by Jesus when questioned by the Jewish leaders about taxes. The helmet signifies Roman rule during the period.'
Tetradrachm (not produced)
In another verse (Matthew 17:27), Jesus says, "...Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin..." The fish is the fish in the story. Note: The foundry couldn‘t provide a Tetradrachm so this sketch was never used
Widow‘s Mite
The "widow‘s mite" is called a lepton in Greek. This comes from the story of a widow who gave one of these coins, all she had, as an offering. Jesus praises her for giving even in poverty.
Shekel of Tyre
According to Josephus (Ant. 3.194-96) Tyrian shekels wer the only acceptable form of payment for the annual temple tax. The chest represents a box that might have been used to collect taxes.
