This Roman denarius (tribute penny) is by far the most valuable coin in my collection. It is 18mm in diameter, weighs 3.43g and was minted in Lugdunum 14-37AD. The obverse shows the laureate head of the Emperor Tiberius and the reverse shows Pontif Maxium with a seated female figure, said to be his mother Livia. The detail in the portrait of Tiberius on this coin is amazing considering its age - click on the above photograph to enlarge the image and get a better view.
This Denarius is known as the “tribute penny”. The reason that it was called a penny is because the translators of the KJV wanted to make it understandable to readers in the 16th Century. The vast majority of people then would not have understood that a denarius was a coin so they gave it the closest example in British coinage in size and value - that was a penny. The Greek word is "Denarion" - Denarius (Luke21v24)
The Pharisees came to Jesus trying to get him to deny the authority of the Emperor Tiberius. He asked for a denarius and, showing it to them, asked them this question.
"Who's image and superscription hath it? They answered and said, Caesar’s. And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar's, and unto God the things which be God's . (Luke 20v24-25)