Tyrian shekel

Tyrian half-shekel from 102 BC Chr.

The Tyrian shekel is a coin that dates back to 126 BC. Until 19 BC Was minted in Tire . It was very similar in appearance, size and weight to the tetradrachms previously minted in Tire . From the 1st century BC Until the Jewish War , which ended in AD 70, the Tyrian shekel and half-shekel (double drachma) were the most widespread silver coins in the Holy Land . However, the Tyrian shekels were probably not in normal circulation, but were used exclusively for paying the temple tax and as a means of payment in the Jerusalem temple area. The silver coins used in normal payment transactions were almost exclusively of Roman origin.

Tire was after the assassination of the Seleucid Demetrios II . Chr. Independent. While the coins previously minted in Tire show the image of the respective ruler on their obverse and are referred to as tetradrachms, from this point on they show the image of the main god of Tire, Melkart , on their obverse and are from now on referred to as shekels . On its back it now reads: TYPOY IEPAΣ ΚΑΙ ΑΣΥΛOY (from Tire, the holy and inviolable). The shekels were made from 126 BC. Until 19 BC Minted in Tire (at the time the coin was closed by the Romans), then probably in Jerusalem until 65 AD, but this is not certain.

The Tyrian shekels were known for their very high silver content (94 and 97% respectively), which was higher than that of other contemporary coins. The weight of the Tyrian shekel was about 14 grams, that of a half shekel was about 7 grams. The standard weight of the coins was probably 14.1 grams for the shekel and 7.1 grams for the half-shekel. The monetary advantage of the Tyrian currency becomes particularly clear in comparison with the Roman provincial coins: While the purity of the Tyrian silver currency hardly changed during its minting period, the silver content of a comparable Roman provincial coin fell in the period between 100 BC. And 100 AD by almost two thirds.

The great importance of the Tyrian shekel was that only with it could the annual temple tax of half a Tyrian shekel be paid, which every male Israelite (also in the diaspora) had to pay from the age of 20 and which was used to support the public Worship at the Jerusalem Temple. The New Testament reports in Mt 17.24-27 EU that Jesus of Nazareth also paid the temple tax in the amount of a tetradrachm for himself and Simon Peter . Although the coins showed the Tyrian city god Melkart (depicted in the form of Heracles ) on the obverse and a picture of the Ptolemaic eagle (who was considered to be the symbol of Zeus ) on the reverse and thus the biblical prohibition of cult images and figurative representations ( Ex 20.3 -4 EU ), the Tyrian shekel was probably the only currency accepted in the temple for financial reasons. It is striking that there is no early Jewish evidence of any religiously motivated resistance to the use of Tyrian coins. Even the Roman coinage of Pontius Pilate , who first minted pagan-Roman cult symbols on Judean provincial money, does not seem to have evoked a Jewish reaction after Flavius Josephus . To what extent pagan or figurative representations on coins actually caused offense in pious Jewish circles remains questionable.

Web links

Tom Buijtendorp: The Tyrian shekels: overview and new unpublished coins. FORVM ANCIENT COINS, accessed February 3, 2015 .

Remarks

↑ The weight of the shekel shown on the specified website ranges from 12.09 to 14.84 grams, that of the half shekel from 5.84 to 7.09 grams.

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b Tom Buijtendorp: The Tyrian shekels: overview and new unpublished coins. FORVM ANCIENT COINS, accessed on February 3, 2015 (English): “After Demetrius was murdered, the city Tire became independent and started to mint autonomous shekels in a style, size and weight (c. 14 gram) very comparable to the earlier tetradrachms (fig 3-4). The head of the ruler was replaced by the laureate head of the city god Melqart facing right, continuing the beautiful style. "
↑ David Hendin: The coin in the mouth of the fish. In: Coin Week. July 28, 2010, accessed on January 3, 2020 : “This large group reminded me again that the shekel and half-shekel from Tire (together with a few Seleucid tetradrachms and didrachms that were often minted in Tire, Sidon or Antiocheia) between the 1st century BC And the Jewish War against Rome, which ended in 70 AD, were the most widespread silver coins in the Holy Land. "
^ ^A ^b Leo Kadman: Temple Dues and Currency in Ancient Palestine in the Light of Recent Discovered Coin-Hoards. Israel Numismatic Bulletin, accessed on February 3, 2015 (English): “In the middle of the first century CE, there was only one purpose for which the exclusive use of Tyrian Shekels was prescribed: the Temple-Dues of half a Shekel, which every male Jew of 20 years of age and above had to pay yearly to the Temple at Jerusalem. "
^ Leo Kadman: Temple Dues and Currency in Ancient Palestine in the Light of Recent Discovered Coin-Hoards. Israel Numismatic Bulletin, accessed on February 3, 2015 (English): “These coins, at the time when the hoard was concealed (after 53 CE), were not in regular currency in Palestine, where the silver coins in circulation were almost exclusively Roman or Roman Imperial. "
↑ Tom Buijtendorp: The Tyrian shekels: overview and new unpublished coins. FORVM ANCIENT COINS, accessed on February 3, 2015 (English): "TYPOY IEPAΣ ΚΑΙ ΑΣΥΛOY (of Tire the holy and inviolable)"
^ ^A ^b Gordon Franz: The Tyrian Shekel and the Temple of Jerusalem. www.biblearchaeology.org, November 1, 2006, accessed on February 3, 2015 (English): “These coins were minted in Tire between 126/125 BC and 19/18 BC. After the Roman government closed the Tire mint, these coins continued to be minted at an unknown mint, probably in or near Jerusalem, from 18/17 BC until AD 69/70. "
↑ Jerusalem's Tyrian Shekel. www.begedivri.com, accessed on February 3, 2015 (English): "The coins minted in Jerusalem between the years 18 BCE and 65 CE were virtually identical to their predecessors from Tire with one addition, the letters KP that appear on the reverse on the upper right side. "
↑ Tom Buijtendorp: The Tyrian shekels: overview and new unpublished coins. FORVM ANCIENT COINS, accessed on February 3, 2015 (English): “In the last stage, from 18 BCE onwards, a very crude series was minted, partly with very worn dies (fig. 7). It has been suggested by Meshorer these coins have been minted in Jerusalem, but this suggestion is not generally supported. "
↑ David Hendin: The coin in the mouth of the fish. In: Coin Week. July 28, 2010, retrieved January 3, 2020 : “Ya'akov Meshorer believes that there were two main issues of Tyrian silver coins. The first emission was therefore in Tire from 126/125 to 19/18 BC. The second in Jerusalem from 18/17 BC. BC to AD 69/70. That is possible, but other numismatists have spoken out in favor of the fact that the second issue - coarser in style and design than the first - may not have been minted in Tire, but probably also not in Jerusalem. "
↑ Gordon Franz: The Tyrian shekels and the Temple of Jerusalem. www.biblearchaeology.org, November 1, 2006, accessed on February 3, 2015 (English): "The shekel, with the laureate head of Melqarth-Herakles (a pagan deity) on the obverse and an eagle (a graven image) on the reverse, averaged 14.2 gm in weight and contained at least 94 per cent silver. "
↑ ^a ^b Tom Buijtendorp: The Tyrian shekels: overview and new unpublished coins. FORVM ANCIENT COINS, accessed on February 3, 2015 (English): "The Tyrian shekels where highly reputed for their silver content of about 97%, much higher then other silver coins in the region. The aimed weight for the full shekel is estimated at around 14.1 grams. For the half shekel the aimed weight would then be half of this or around 7.1 gram. "
↑ David Hendin: The coin in the mouth of the fish. In: Coin Week. July 28, 2010, accessed on January 3, 2020 : "The shekel weighed about 14 g, the half shekel almost 7 g."
↑ ^a ^b Martin Stowasser : Jesus' confrontation with the temple business in Jerusalem - a conflict between religion and economy? (PDF; 252 KB). In: Martin Fitzenreiter (ed.): The holy and the goods. On the field of tension between religion and economy (= Internet articles on Egyptology and Sudan archeology - IBAES, Volume VII). Berlin 2007, pp. 39–51, here: p. 46.
↑ Temple Tax. www.deacademic.com, accessed February 3, 2015 .
↑ Gordon Franz: The Tyrian shekels and the Temple of Jerusalem. www.biblearchaeology.org, November 1, 2006, accessed on February 3, 2015 (English): “The Jewish coin makers continued to strike coins with the image of Melqarth-Herakles and the eagle. This was contrary to the clear teachings of the Word of God (Ex 20: 3, 4: Dt. 4: 16-18; 5: 8). Yet the rabbis declared that the Tyrian shekels were the only legal currency that was acceptable in the Temple (Hendin 2001: 420-29; 2002: 46, 47). "

[16] The weight of the shekel shown on the specified website ranges from 12.09 to 14.84 grams, that of the half shekel from 5.84 to 7.09 grams.

[fo1-1] Tom Buijtendorp: The Tyrian shekels: overview and new unpublished coins. FORVM ANCIENT COINS, accessed on February 3, 2015 (English): “After Demetrius was murdered, the city Tire became independent and started to mint autonomous shekels in a style, size and weight (c. 14 gram) very comparable to the earlier tetradrachms (fig 3-4). The head of the ruler was replaced by the laureate head of the city god Melqart facing right, continuing the beautiful style. "

[mw1-2] David Hendin: The coin in the mouth of the fish. In: Coin Week. July 28, 2010, accessed on January 3, 2020 : “This large group reminded me again that the shekel and half-shekel from Tire (together with a few Seleucid tetradrachms and didrachms that were often minted in Tire, Sidon or Antiocheia) between the 1st century BC And the Jewish War against Rome, which ended in 70 AD, were the most widespread silver coins in the Holy Land. "

[in1-3] A ^b Leo Kadman: Temple Dues and Currency in Ancient Palestine in the Light of Recent Discovered Coin-Hoards. Israel Numismatic Bulletin, accessed on February 3, 2015 (English): “In the middle of the first century CE, there was only one purpose for which the exclusive use of Tyrian Shekels was prescribed: the Temple-Dues of half a Shekel, which every male Jew of 20 years of age and above had to pay yearly to the Temple at Jerusalem. "

[in2-4] Leo Kadman: Temple Dues and Currency in Ancient Palestine in the Light of Recent Discovered Coin-Hoards. Israel Numismatic Bulletin, accessed on February 3, 2015 (English): “These coins, at the time when the hoard was concealed (after 53 CE), were not in regular currency in Palestine, where the silver coins in circulation were almost exclusively Roman or Roman Imperial. "

[fo2-5] Tom Buijtendorp: The Tyrian shekels: overview and new unpublished coins. FORVM ANCIENT COINS, accessed on February 3, 2015 (English): "TYPOY IEPAΣ ΚΑΙ ΑΣΥΛOY (of Tire the holy and inviolable)"

[ba1-6] A ^b Gordon Franz: The Tyrian Shekel and the Temple of Jerusalem. www.biblearchaeology.org, November 1, 2006, accessed on February 3, 2015 (English): “These coins were minted in Tire between 126/125 BC and 19/18 BC. After the Roman government closed the Tire mint, these coins continued to be minted at an unknown mint, probably in or near Jerusalem, from 18/17 BC until AD 69/70. "

[be-7] Jerusalem's Tyrian Shekel. www.begedivri.com, accessed on February 3, 2015 (English): "The coins minted in Jerusalem between the years 18 BCE and 65 CE were virtually identical to their predecessors from Tire with one addition, the letters KP that appear on the reverse on the upper right side. "

[fo3-8] Tom Buijtendorp: The Tyrian shekels: overview and new unpublished coins. FORVM ANCIENT COINS, accessed on February 3, 2015 (English): “In the last stage, from 18 BCE onwards, a very crude series was minted, partly with very worn dies (fig. 7). It has been suggested by Meshorer these coins have been minted in Jerusalem, but this suggestion is not generally supported. "

[mw2-9] David Hendin: The coin in the mouth of the fish. In: Coin Week. July 28, 2010, retrieved January 3, 2020 : “Ya'akov Meshorer believes that there were two main issues of Tyrian silver coins. The first emission was therefore in Tire from 126/125 to 19/18 BC. The second in Jerusalem from 18/17 BC. BC to AD 69/70. That is possible, but other numismatists have spoken out in favor of the fact that the second issue - coarser in style and design than the first - may not have been minted in Tire, but probably also not in Jerusalem. "

[ba2-10] Gordon Franz: The Tyrian shekels and the Temple of Jerusalem. www.biblearchaeology.org, November 1, 2006, accessed on February 3, 2015 (English): "The shekel, with the laureate head of Melqarth-Herakles (a pagan deity) on the obverse and an eagle (a graven image) on the reverse, averaged 14.2 gm in weight and contained at least 94 per cent silver. "

[fo4-11] Tom Buijtendorp: The Tyrian shekels: overview and new unpublished coins. FORVM ANCIENT COINS, accessed on February 3, 2015 (English): "The Tyrian shekels where highly reputed for their silver content of about 97%, much higher then other silver coins in the region. The aimed weight for the full shekel is estimated at around 14.1 grams. For the half shekel the aimed weight would then be half of this or around 7.1 gram. "

[mw3-12] David Hendin: The coin in the mouth of the fish. In: Coin Week. July 28, 2010, accessed on January 3, 2020 : "The shekel weighed about 14 g, the half shekel almost 7 g."

[Stowasser-13] Martin Stowasser : Jesus' confrontation with the temple business in Jerusalem - a conflict between religion and economy? (PDF; 252 KB). In: Martin Fitzenreiter (ed.): The holy and the goods. On the field of tension between religion and economy (= Internet articles on Egyptology and Sudan archeology - IBAES, Volume VII). Berlin 2007, pp. 39–51, here: p. 46.

[ul-14] Temple Tax. www.deacademic.com, accessed February 3, 2015 .

[ba3-15] Gordon Franz: The Tyrian shekels and the Temple of Jerusalem. www.biblearchaeology.org, November 1, 2006, accessed on February 3, 2015 (English): “The Jewish coin makers continued to strike coins with the image of Melqarth-Herakles and the eagle. This was contrary to the clear teachings of the Word of God (Ex 20: 3, 4: Dt. 4: 16-18; 5: 8). Yet the rabbis declared that the Tyrian shekels were the only legal currency that was acceptable in the Temple (Hendin 2001: 420-29; 2002: 46, 47). "