JUDAEA, Herodians. Herod III Antipas, 4 BCE-39 CE. Half Unit (Bronze, 19 mm, 5.15 g, 12 h), Tiberias, RY 37 = 33/4 CE. TIBE/PIAC within wreath. Rev. [HPΩΔ]OY - TETPA[PXOY] Palm frond; L - ΛZ (date) across field. Bromberg I 33. Hendin 6243. Meshorer, AJC, 14. RPC I 4931. Samel 2117-2118. Shoshana I 20118. Sofaer 105-106. Repatinated, otherwise, very fine.



According to the Gospel of Luke, Pontius Pilate sent Jesus to Herod Antipas because, as a Galilean, he fell under the tetrarch’s jurisdiction; Antipas was then in Jerusalem for Passover. Antipas questioned Jesus, subjected him to mockery, and returned him to Pilate without passing sentence (Luke 23:6–12). Since this episode is recorded only by Luke, modern scholarship remains cautious about its precise historical basis: such an encounter is possible, but cannot be independently confirmed. The legal authority and immediate responsibility for the crucifixion rested with the Roman prefect Pontius Pilate, not with Antipas. Dated to 33/4 CE, this coin was struck in close chronological proximity to the later of the two principal dates proposed for the crucifixion, 33 CE, the other being 30 CE (see lot 192 above).