Tyrian shekels, tetradrachms, or tetradrachmas were coins of Tyre.
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 by the Greeks, as they weighed four Athenian Ancient drachma, about 14 grams , more than earlier 11-gram shekels but regarded as equivalent for religious duties at that time., citing David Hendin's Guide to Biblical Coins and Y. Meshorer's Ancient Jewish Coinage. 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 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 Temple priests specifically required Tyrian shekels for Temple tax payments.
The money-changers referenced in the New Testament Gospels ( and parallels) provided Tyrian shekels in exchange for Roman currency when this was required.
the Tyrian Shekel also once appeared in Rick Harrison 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.
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