Obverse: anchor to commemorate the establishment of the port at Caesarea Maritima by King Herod. The anchor is flanked by the inscription “HPW BACIA,” which translates as “of King Herod.”
Reverse: Encircling a caduceus between, with five pellets above. The cornucopia, also known as the Judean horn of plenty, represents abundance, while the caduceus, an image of two snakes winding around a winged staff, is a pagan symbol of prosperity.
Herod the Great ruled the Kingdom of Judea from 40-4 B.C. Herod is mentioned in the Gospel specifically Matthew 2:1-20, in connection with the Massacre of the Innocents. He felt threatened by the birth of Jesus, the King of the Jews, Herod supposedly gave orders that all boys under the age of two be killed in and around Bethlehem, though historians cannot confirm with certainty that the massacre took place.
