New To Ancients - Roman Denarius Question

You can search on V-coins for "tribute penny" and find a range of prices-

http://www.vcoins.com/en/Default.aspx

These denarii tend to be more expensive than their relative abundance would suggest, but the biblical tie-in creates demand and inflates the price.

You will not be able to pin down a denarius to a specific year. There is no Roman series to choose through with AD30 AD31 AD32 etc. The denarius in question (and it is not entirely certain being 'inferred' by the details of the story) was produced in Lugdunum (Lyon) from AD16 until March AD37.
So even if you get one there is no certainty it was produced before and not after the desired year ! Additionally you will tend to pay through the nose for this type. Dealers are well aware of the interest generated by the story and will serenade you with stories of how "this may actually be the very coin held be Jesus himself !"
Act now ! and they will throw in a piece of the "True Cross" at half price ! ( get a copy of the 'check' from the last supper while supplies last !)
I do not consider myself particularly religious but certainly had much the same thoughts as you have when I first began collecting ancients. If you expand the search slightly to issues from the time of Jesus. Or even to coins made by people who lived at the time you might save some 'lucre'. Bronze coins of the emperor Claudius are reasonably priced and while produced post AD33 he certainly lived through the same period and knew many of the principals of the time from Augustus Tiberius Caligula and even King 'Herod Agrippa' the son of the other Herod more closely associated to the story.

The so-called widows mite is also available and even much more affordable ( I picked one up not too long ago set in a silver bezel for around 20 dollars) But again you are making do with a coin from the period in question. Widows mites are not the most impressive looking coins either. Looking very much like something you might find by the side of the road ! But at least they won't empty your wallet and all in all they probably have the same 'probability' of being the "very coin held by Jesus !"

On a completely different tact I remember reading once (I think it was Stephen Hawking) that the basic 'element' of water being nearly indestructible and the number of molecules contained in your body being so vast as to be uncountable, mathematical probability makes it all but certain that a few water molecules now inside of you were once inside of ...... you guessed it Jesus ! Of course this same formula applies to every other person who ever lived ! They all circulate around the globe in peaceful co-existance.

I would suggest the range is more like $50 - $1000 for a denarius from that time, you wont get much worth having for 25-30 dollars ..

AD 33 was during the reign of Emperor Tiberius and, very unusually for a Roman emperor, Tiberius did not issue a great variety of denarii. There are only two basic types of denarii: the very scarce "emperor in quadriga" type and the much more common "Livia seated" type. The quadriga types all bear dates, and the only dates reported convert to the first few years of his reign, AD 14 to AD 16. Assuming denarii were produced in AD 33, then any struck would certainly have been "Livia" types, which do not bear dates. This is why the "Livia" type is the one that is always marketed as "The Tribute Penny". Even though, without video evidence, we will never be sure exactly what specific kind of coin Jesus was holding when he gave his famous "render unto Caesar" answer.

As for how much, it depends on how nice a coin you want. I have one, fairly well worn and somewhat off-centre on one side, which I paid several hundred dollars for a couple of years ago. Much nicer ones than mine will cost you thousands. Examples in even worse condition than mine might go down to $100 or so, but you won't get one cheaper.

I should also point out that replica tribute pennies are fairly commonly encountered, so only buy from a trusted, reputable dealer. Stay away from ebay.

Everyone I know who has done business with him has been very satisfied.