Coins/Money

Coins of various kinds have existed since the eighth century BC. At the time of King Darius of Persia, a gold coin—a daric—was in circulation. This coin had the image of the king. Phoenician merchants, who traveled all over the known world helped make the use of coins more popular in the fourth and fifth centuries BC. Later, when the Roman Empire conquered much of the known world, other coins were in use. At the time of Jesus, coins were minted in gold, silver, and copper.

Denarius. A silver coin that was the average pay for one day’s work. This was the “Roman coin” Jesus asked to see when the Pharisees demanded to know if they should pay taxes to Caesar. Caesar’s face was engraved on the coin.

Copper Coins. The smallest denomination of coin used in Jesus’s day. This was a Jewish coin called a lepton. The lepton has been in existence, however, since the time of Alexander Jannaeus, king of Judea in 103–76 BC. It is called a “farthing” or a “penny” in some translations of the Bible and was worth about a sixteenth of a denarius. A widow who gave an offering that Jesus admired gave two copper coins. Two sparrows could be bought for one of these coins.