Silver Denarius, weighing 3.9 grams. Very historically significant, because this particular denarius, featuring the Roman emperor Tiberius on the obverse and his mother Livia on the reverse, is probably the type of coin Jesus held up in his famous speech. It is the only style of denarius of the reigning Emperor that would have been in circulation at the time.

The Latin inscription on the obverse reads (clockwise from left of emperor's ear): Avgustvs Ti(berius) Caesar Divi Avg(vsti) F(ilius) ["Augustus Tiberius, son of the Divine Augustus"]. The reverse bears the inscription Pontif(ex) Maxim(vs) ["Greatest Priest"].

Biblical verses:

• Mat 22:15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted together how they might trap Him in what He said.
• Mat 22:16 And they sent their disciples to Him, along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any.
• Mat 22:17 "Tell us then, what do You think? Is it lawful to give a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?"
• Mat 22:18 But Jesus perceived their malice, and said, "Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites?
• Mat 22:19 "Show Me the coin {used} for the poll-tax." And they brought Him a denarius.
• Mat 22:20 And He said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?"
• Mat 22:21 They said to Him, "Caesar's." Then He said to them, "Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's."
• Mat 22:22 And hearing {this,} they were amazed, and leaving Him, they went away.

Silver Denarius of the emperor Titus Flavius Domitianus (Domitian). Obverse inscription reads IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM PM TRP XII; reverse inscription reads IMP XXII COS XVI CENS P P P, which an internet source I found narrows the minting date to between September 92 - September 93. Reverse portrays Minerva standing left, holding a spear. I found this coin at a flea market in September of 2007. I'm definitely not an expert on ancient coins, but there's something about holding a coin this old that I can't explain (even if it isn't made of copper!)

My first colonial coin! I traded a MS64 Franklin Half Dollar for it in January 1998. Not the prettiest coin around. It has a horse's head and plow on the obverse (and a partial date, if you use your imagination) and a shield on the reverse. The motto NOVA CAESAREA (New Jersey) appears on the obverse and E PLURIBUS UNUM is on the reverse. At least a partial motto appears on both sides of this coin. According to Breen's Encyclopedia, this particular coin was struck by Matthias Ogden in early 1788, but was backdated 1787. It's a common variety.

I received this as part of a large cent purchase I made a long time ago. A local Conder expert was able to attribute it for me as a Norfolk 47a, plain edge variety.

What's this doing here, you might ask? It's basically a large cent sized coin, dated 1815. Since no large cents were dated 1815, this is my "hole filler" for the date. Neat coin, with a large die crack in the upper obverse.

An incredibly rare and historic counterstamp. This counterstamp commemorated and honored Tommy "Crazy Shoes" Deconstanzo, the little-known inventor of softball, probably in the mid-1850's when Tommy invented the game. Tommy is also credited with the invention of the balk, and he was known to be strictly opposed to the DH rule.

Only about half a dozen examples of the counterstamp are known to exist today. All are counterpunched over an 1825 large cent, the year of Tommy's birth. Furthermore, all known examples feature a small hole at K12, as these were purportedly worn around the necks of the players of the fledgling sport as a symbol of good luck.

This particular "Tommy Softball 23" counterstamp is struck over an 1825 N-10, which is an R3+ variety. The coin boldly displays Tommy's uniform number, 23, in the center of the bust, which is a unique placement of the numeral; all other known examples have "23" stamped to the left side. The "B" in "SOFTBALL" is also boldly double-punched, adding to the mystique of this legendary coin.

A neat piece I purchased on eBay. I figure every early copper collector should have at least one hard times token.

An interesting private issue made of german silver, produced and circulated by Lewis Feuchtwanger, a Bavarian, during the late 1830's/early 1840's. A nice uncirculated specimen. Die pairing 6-I, which is common.

A high grade pleasing example.

A nice example of the toughest date in the short Copper Nickel series.

A choice XF+ example. Bought from Rick Snow, the leading expert in Indian cents.

A nice XF+ example. Not easy to find decent 1864 copper nickel cents. Purchased from Rick Snow.

I got this off eBay. Tough to find as a date, and especially in VG for some reason. Housed in an ANACS slab.

A nice, low-grade no problem coin! I got this as part of my commission for selling coins on eBay. Yes, I will work for one cent (if it's the RIGHT cent.)

A nice example of this semi-key date.

A nice example of this semi-key date.

Part of a large type collection that was purchased locally. I don't really collect these, but if I ever do this is a good place to start. TY of LIBERTY are repunched, and there's a die crack below the date and over STAT. Not a rare variety but a neat one.