Tyrian shekels, tetradrachms, or tetradrachmas were coins of
Tyre.
Description
They also bore the Greek inscription (, 'of
Tyre the holy
ityand
ityof
refuge'). The coins were the size of a modern Israeli half-shekel and were issued by Tyre, in that form, between 126 BC and AD 56. Earlier Tyrian coins with the value of a tetradrachm, bearing various inscriptions and images, had been issued from the second half of the fifth century BC.
After the Roman Empire closed down the mint in
Tyre, the Roman authorities allowed the Jewish
rabbanim to continue minting Tyrian shekels in Judaea, but with the requirement that the coins should continue to bear the same image and text to avoid objections that the Jews were given autonomy.
They were replaced by
First Jewish Revolt coinage in 66 AD.
The Tyrian shekels were considered
tetradrachm
The tetradrachm () was a large silver coin that originated in Ancient Greece. It was nominally equivalent to four drachmae. Over time the tetradrachm effectively became the standard coin of the Antiquity, spreading well beyond the borders of the ...
s by the Greeks, as they weighed four Athenian
drachma
Drachma may refer to:
* Ancient drachma, an ancient Greek currency
* Modern drachma
The drachma ( ) was the official currency of modern Greece from 1832 until the launch of the euro in 2001.
First modern drachma
The drachma was reintroduce ...
s, about 14 grams , more than earlier 11-gram shekels but regarded as equivalent for religious duties at that time. In ancient Tyre, the weekly wage of a skilled laborer was about 1 shekel. These coins were imperfect in shape, all unique in geometry, as they were struck inaccurately, by a hammer 4 feet long in length, containing the face of the coin. A quarter shekel of Tyre was worth about a loaf of bread.
Metallurgical studies have demonstrated that Tyrian shekels maintained an exceptionally high
silver
Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...
content throughout their entire production period, with a purity level approaching 94-97%. This remarkable consistency in metal quality distinguished them from other ancient silver coins. The exceptional purity helps explain why the
Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
Temple priests specifically required Tyrian shekels for Temple tax payments.
The money-changers referenced in the New Testament Gospels (
Matt. 21:12 and parallels) provided Tyrian shekels in exchange for Roman currency when this was required.
the Tyrian Shekel also once appeared in
Rick Harrison’s tv show
Pawn Stars, by seller Ryan, in a polished, cleaned, therefore, damaged state by seller/market adjudicational standards. That coin sold for $1,600 before 2020, September 4th, 2020, and unfortunately, would have sold for around $5,000 had the coin not been cleaned.
See also
*
History of currency
*
List of historical currencies
*
Shekel
A shekel or sheqel (; , , plural , ) is an ancient Mesopotamian coin, usually of silver. A shekel was first a unit of weight—very roughly 11 grams (0.35 ozt)—and became currency in ancient Tyre, Carthage and Hasmonean Judea.
Name
The wo ...
*
Carthaginian shekel, generally roughly half a Tyrian shekel
*
Jerusalem shekel
*
Bar Kochba shekel
References
Jews and Judaism in the Roman Empire
Coins in the Bible
History of Tyre, Lebanon
Phoenician coinage
Baal
Shekel
Melqart
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