When a dealer at a New York coin show showed astronomer Michael Molnar an ancient Roman coin minted in Syria that featured a picture of Zeus on one side and Aries the ram on the other, he bought it for $50.
A few months later, Molnar noticed a star on the coin, which was minted in A.D. 13. An earlier version had been issued by Quirinius, the governor of Syria who’s mentioned in the Gospel of Luke as ordering a census at the time of the birth of Jesus.
And so began a quest by the University of Wisconsin-Madison alum to see if a most unlikely source — his own coin collection — held a clue to the identity of the Star of Bethlehem that drew the three wise men to see the infant king, an event known as Epiphany, which this year is celebrated Sunday in many churches.
Louisiana State University astronomer Bradley Schaefer assesses Molnar’s theory on The Book & The Spade radio program: