Obverse of bronze Herod the Great prutah, showing a royal diadem
Reverse of bronze Herod the Great prutah, showing a three-legged Temple table
Bronze Herod the Great prutah in a display case, a royal diadem, obverse facing up
Obverse of bronze Herod the Great prutah, showing a royal diadem
Reverse of bronze Herod the Great prutah, showing a three-legged Temple table
Bronze Herod the Great prutah in a display case, a royal diadem, obverse facing up

Herod the Great (Table and Diadem) Bronze Prutah

Authentic OriginalAUTHENTIC ORIGINAL

Minted in Jerusalem (37-4 BCE), this bronze prutah was issued by King Herod the Great, a ruler renowned for his monumental expansion of the Second Temple and his infamous role in the New Testament.

The design features a royal diadem on the obverse and a three-legged Temple table on the reverse, deliberately avoiding human portraits to comply with Jewish law. Manually struck, each coin uniquely varies in its shape and centering.

This coin is a genuine piece of daily life from Herodian Judea. Owning it allows you to hold the actual currency used by the people who lived, traded, and worshipped in Jerusalem during the era of the expanded Second Temple.

Variants

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Bronze
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The Story

Appointed King of Judea by the Roman Senate in 40 BCE, Herod the Great secured control of the region by 37 BCE. Though viewed with deep suspicion by his Jewish subjects due to his Idumean heritage and Roman allegiances, Herod maintained control through massive public works. He transformed Judea into an economic powerhouse, funding his projects through the widespread minting of bronze prutot.

Because Herod lacked a legitimate genealogical claim to the high priesthood, he used his currency to project both religious and political authority. He carefully selected symbols that projected power without inciting rebellion, strictly excluding his own portrait to respect the Jewish legal prohibition against graven images. The obverse features a royal diadem enclosing a cross—often identified as the Greek letter chi, a mark associated with the anointment of priests. The reverse displays the Temple's sacred Showbread table, directly linking his reign to his most famous architectural achievement.

Herod’s crowning achievement was the monumental expansion of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. He transformed the modest centuries-old structure into the largest religious complex in the ancient world, doubling the size of the Temple Mount to accommodate over 100,000 pilgrims during major festivals.

"Whoever has not seen Herod’s Temple has never seen a beautiful building."
— Babylonian Talmud (Bava Batra 4a)

Despite his architectural triumphs, Herod's historical legacy is forever tied to his ruthless political paranoia. The Gospel of Matthew famously records this in the narrative of the "Slaughter of the Innocents," describing a paranoid king who ordered the execution of young children in Bethlehem to protect his throne. His bronze coins survived him, continuing to circulate in Jerusalem and serving as tangible artifacts of a reign that fundamentally shaped the biblical world.

Obverse of bronze Herod the Great prutah, showing a royal diadem Reverse of bronze Herod the Great prutah, showing a three-legged Temple table

The Symbols

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Bordered by a Greek inscription translating to "of King Herod," the diadem represents sovereign authority. The central cross, often identified as the Greek letter chi, symbolizes his administrative control over the high priesthood.

Every coin includes a Certificate of Authenticity backed by the expertise of a government-authorized antiquities dealer.

The certificate provides documented context for the piece, featuring details such as:

  • A formal declaration guaranteeing the item as a genuine antiquity.
  • Historical background on the era, the ruler who minted the coin, and the historical climate of the time.
  • A numismatic description detailing the coin's denomination and minting dates.
  • Explanations of the specific motifs and symbols featured on the coin.
  • Translations of any relevant ancient inscriptions where applicable.

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