Roman Coinage (bit of a tid)

While catching up on my TableTalk devotional reading I came across this in reference to Mark 12:13-17.  It's the famous tax paying confrontation.

"A second bit of irony is seen in the pharisees' and Herodians' giving Jesus a denarius when He asked for one.  First-century Jews, for the most part, did not embrace Roman rule enthusiastically.  In fact, many considered the payment of Roman taxes to be a form of idolatry, particularly since the Roman Coinage in which taxes were paid featured the image of the Emperor and his title, which gave him the status of deity.  The Pharisees and Herodians knew that if Jesus were to openly teach people to pay this tax, the Jewish citizens would be upset and would even stop listening to Him.  But note that Jesus did not have the detested Roman coin on His person; His opponents, Jewish leaders who were supposed to be adamantly against idolatry, did.  If paying the Roman taxes was inherently idolatrous, the Jewish authorities were complicit, not Jesus."