About the Book

Book: Marcus and the Emperor’s Coin

Author: Dennis Conrad

Genre: Christian Children’s Picture Book

Release date: October 30, 2023

Marcus and the Emperor’s Coin is an exciting adventure in the Ancient Roman Empire at the time of Christ. Eight-year-old Marcus and his father are on a mission for the Emperor and visit a mine and a mint where coins are made. Marcus himself makes a denarius, a coin with the emperor’s image.

Marcus goes to Jerusalem where he sees Jesus hold a denarius saying, “Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” What will seeing Jesus mean for Marcus, and will he ever be the same again?

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About the Author

A former coin collector for over fifty years, Dennis combines his love for the Bible, children’s literature, and sharing stories about the history behind coins.

Dennis retired as a professor of speech communications from Barstow Community College. He and his wife served as English and public speaking teachers ten summers overseas.

Dennis became a sustaining member of the Numismatic Association of Southern California in 1979. He is also a life member of the American Numismatic Association.

Dennis is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and a Fellow of the National Writing Project.

More from Dennis

How to Turn a Penny into a Teachable Moment

Dennis Conrad

Connect with your child or grandchild by starting a coin collection.

Start with the penny, also known as the Lincoln Head Cent. The coins were first minted in 1909 because it was the 100^th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth.

Use the coin to help your child make the connections with who Lincoln was, what he did, and when he lived. Reasons why Abraham Lincoln is featured on a coin include the following:

Lincoln is often at the top of the list of America’s greatest presidents.
He helped to preserve the Union during the American Civil War.
His Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves.
The Gettysburg Address ranks as one of the best speeches of all time.

Now, Look On the Back (the Reverse)

Go through change to find the different images on the backs of pennies.

There are wheat ears (1909-1958) and the Lincoln Memorial (1959-2008).

To celebrate the 200^thanniversary of his birth, the U.S. Mint issued coins with four different images on the back. The Lincoln Bicentennial (2009) coins include a log cabin, Lincoln sitting on a log, Lincoln standing in front of the state capitol of Illinois, and an unfinished U.S. Capitol Building (the way it was when he was president.) For the past several years, there has is a shield on the back representing the preserved union (2010-Present).

Add one of each reverse to the child’s collection.

Don’t forget to mention the words, the date, and the mintmark.

The words include “One Cent,” “In God We Trust,” “Liberty,” “The United States of America,” and “E Pluribus Unum” which means “Out of many, one.”

Also, look for and find the year minted and the mintmark.

Find and add a coin from the child’s birth year to the child’s collection.

Look at the mintmark. It is a letter on the front of the coin under the date. The “D” is for Denver, the “S” for San Francisco, and the absence of a mintmark means the coin was minted in Philadelphia.

Add coins with the different mintmarks to the child’s collection.

Keep the collection safe in a small box or a Ziploc bag. Have fun. Add to the collection as time goes by.

Free Resources

Want to encourage the child in your life to learn more about coins? Sign up at https://dennisconradauthor.com so your child can become a Junior Coin Collector. Receive free, monthly activity sheets like a crossword puzzle. There is a Coin Hunt section where children can search for and find coins in change for their collection, and a Vocabulary Builder section with coin collecting terms.

Author Interview

Q: What was the inspiration behind this children’s picture storybook?

Dennis: One morning, I took a manuscript about Bible coins to my eight-person critique group. After I read my story, the leader of the group was blunt. “I don’t like this story. There is no conflict. Why don’t you focus on the one incident where Jesus holds up a coin, and says, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

I thought long and hard about what he said, and I finally took his advice. I am glad I did. Marcus and the Emperor’s Coin became an Amazon bestseller in two categories and won First Place in Carolina Christian Writers Conference, Children’s Book Category, Kudos Awards.

Q: How long did it take you to write this children’s picture storybook?

Dennis: I had spent months revising the story for my critique group. Then, I worked closely with my editor at Elk Lake Publishing, Inc. for a little over three months.

Q: What was the most surprising thing you discovered while researching and writing this children’s picture storybook?

Dennis: I learned there is a lot of information about ancient Roman coin production. It was fun to find books, YouTube videos, and online articles related to this subject.

Q: Do any of the children’s picture storybook’s characters hold a special place in your heart?

Dennis: I like Marcus. He is a young boy who is a bit clumsy. I was glad to show him to be more mature by the end.

Q: Do you have a favorite quote from this children’s picture storybook?

Dennis: The following quotations show Jesus’s comment and Marcus’s reaction.

Jesus’s voice boomed over the crowd. “Give to the emperor the things that are his, and to God the things that are God’s.”

Marcus frowned, “What?”

Marcus has to figure out what Jesus meant.

Q: What do you hope readers take away from this children’s picture storybook?

Dennis: I hope children and other readers will relate to Marcus and realize they, too, can have a mission. Also, family members can have the salvation conversation with the next generation.

Q: If the children’s picture storybook was made into a movie, who would like you to see play the main characters?

Dennis: I have already created a short video using the illustrations. Watch here:

https://dennisconradauthor.com/book-collection/

As a movie, Tom Hanks would be a good father, and I would pick an unknown child actor to play Marcus. I don’t have anyone in mind for Jesus.

Q: Would you share something about yourself that most readers wouldn’t know?

Dennis: My wife, Diane, and I will have been married thirty-four years this June. In October 2019, Diane fell, had a brain bleed, and brain surgery. She now has dementia. I have been her caregiver until recently when her condition worsened. She is now living in a senior community with memory care. I see her every day.

Q: In what setting do you enjoy writing the most?

Dennis: I do some of my best thinking and writing after having breakfast at a restaurant or having coffee at a coffee shop. I write on a yellow legal pad for the early drafts. Once I have the overall story in mind, I like to write dialogue.

Q: What are you reading now?

Dennis: I just finished reading several children’s and young adult books set in 300-325 A.D. for my next book. For example, I read nonfiction accounts about Constantine the Great and what life was like in ancient Rome. I also read a fictional story written for middle graders about a boy living during this time.

Q: How many bookshelves are in your home?

Dennis: This is embarrassing! My wife and I are retired college professors, and we have fifty-nine shelves of books. Yikes! We have several Bibles; faith-based, Christian books (nonfiction and fiction); teaching English as a second language books; English, public speaking, and cross-cultural communication textbooks; craft of writing books; a large collection of pamphlets; business books; Shakespeare; biographies; travel guides; and on and on. (Now that I counted the number, I think it is time to donate some of these books.)

Q: Who is an author you would recommend to anyone and everyone?

Dennis: Jerry Jenkins writes well and tells a great story. I liked Left Behind and the series.

Q: What do you like to do when you aren't writing?

Dennis: My wife, Diane, and I have been married thirty-four years this June. In October 2019, Diane fell, had a brain bleed, and brain surgery. She now has dementia. I have been her caregiver until recently, when her condition worsened. She is now living in a senior community with memory care. I see her every day.

Q: Where can readers find out more about you and your children’s picture storybook?

Dennis: Readers can visit https://dennisconradauthor.com.

Children can become Junior Coin Collectors and get free Activity Sheets (like a crossword puzzle) each month. There is also a “Coin Hunt” section that encourages young people to search for and find coins in change, and a “Vocabulary Builder” that teaches words related to coin collecting.