"This thing's got historical value and religious significance. You'll have no trouble getting $2,500 for it."
-Expert
Facts[]
- Fact 1: The Tyrian shekel, or tetradrachma, was a silver coin manufactured in Tyre for the Roman empire. It was used almost exclusively to pay the Roman temple tax.
- Fact 2: Due to its use in temple business, the Tyrian shekel took on a negative reputation as the coin used to pay Judas Iscariot.
- Fact 3: The city of Tyre, located in what is now Lebanon, was an important commercial trade port through much of history, and was allowed to operate somewhat independently under Roman rule.
- Fact 4: The face depicted on the Tyrian shekel is a multicultural amalgam of the Phoenecian gods Melqart and Baal with the Greek demigod Hercules, and wears an Olympic laurel.
- Fact 5: Made of a purer silver than standard Roman coinage, the Tyrian shekel became the required method of paying the Roman temple tax. Exchange booths set up in Jewish temples are mentioned in the Bible as the moneychangers chased from the temple by Jesus.