"Imperial Rome produced a series of now-rare bronze coins depicting Noah’s Ark—the first known coins depicting a biblical scene. These coins, averaging about 3 cm in diameter, were produced during the reigns of five Roman Emperors: Septimius Severus, Macrinus, Gordian III, Philip, and Trebonianus Gallus, covering a period of 61 years (AD 192–253).
The coins were all minted in the Roman city of Apameia Kibotos (or Cibotus in its Latinized spelling) in Asia Minor. It was originally a Phrygian city established by Antiochus I (280–261 BC), and is now the modern-day town of Dinar in Turkey. The original Phrygian city was named Apameia, and sometime before the turn of the 1st millennium BC appears to have had a nickname, Kibōtos, added to it. This word, meaning chest or box, is thought to be a reference to its coffers, as it had become a very wealthy city as it rose to prominence.
While Apameia Kibōtos is in the west of Turkey, a tradition was formed by the Jewish population living there that a nearby mountain was the actual Mountain of Ararat on which Noah’s Ark landed. Antiquity was looked upon favourably in the Roman world, so this would also have given the city more prominence. This obvious link may have been latched onto by whoever put forward the idea for Noah’s Ark (Noah’s kibōtos) to be placed on the reverse of the coin. It may have also played on a local Phrygian flood legend (sans ark) which referred to the same nearby hill.
What’s on the coin?
The obverse of the coin (see images right) carries the image and name of the Emperor, which
obviously changes depending on the time of minting, but the core features remain essentially the same. On the reverse side it depicts Noah and his wife inside the box-shaped Ark with waves lapping at the bottom of it. Noah’s name in Greek, ΝΩΕ (Nōe), can be clearly read in the middle of the Ark. On top of the Ark on the right is the raven, and on the top left is the dove with an olive branch in its mouth. On the left side of the coin Noah and his wife are again shown, standing outside the Ark on solid ground with their hands raised upwards to God in praise. This important feature shows that they recognized that God remembered them bringing them safely through the global Flood.
Apameia Kibotos seemed to have enjoyed putting a range of historical images on the reverse of its coins, so perhaps using Noah’s Ark could have been a way for this Roman city to acknowledge or honour its Jewish and/or Christian citizens. Given the city’s mixture of Romans, Jews, Christians, and many others, the history of Noah’s Ark and how humanity descended from the eight who exited it after the Flood seems appropriate." CMI
But God remembered Noah and all the beasts
and all the livestock that were with him in the ark.
And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided.
Genesis 8:1
The coins were all minted in the Roman city of Apameia Kibotos (or Cibotus in its Latinized spelling) in Asia Minor. It was originally a Phrygian city established by Antiochus I (280–261 BC), and is now the modern-day town of Dinar in Turkey. The original Phrygian city was named Apameia, and sometime before the turn of the 1st millennium BC appears to have had a nickname, Kibōtos, added to it. This word, meaning chest or box, is thought to be a reference to its coffers, as it had become a very wealthy city as it rose to prominence.
While Apameia Kibōtos is in the west of Turkey, a tradition was formed by the Jewish population living there that a nearby mountain was the actual Mountain of Ararat on which Noah’s Ark landed. Antiquity was looked upon favourably in the Roman world, so this would also have given the city more prominence. This obvious link may have been latched onto by whoever put forward the idea for Noah’s Ark (Noah’s kibōtos) to be placed on the reverse of the coin. It may have also played on a local Phrygian flood legend (sans ark) which referred to the same nearby hill.
What’s on the coin?
The obverse of the coin (see images right) carries the image and name of the Emperor, which
Apameia Kibotos seemed to have enjoyed putting a range of historical images on the reverse of its coins, so perhaps using Noah’s Ark could have been a way for this Roman city to acknowledge or honour its Jewish and/or Christian citizens. Given the city’s mixture of Romans, Jews, Christians, and many others, the history of Noah’s Ark and how humanity descended from the eight who exited it after the Flood seems appropriate." CMI
But God remembered Noah and all the beasts
and all the livestock that were with him in the ark.
And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided.
Genesis 8:1
