Ancient Greece - 126/5 BCE - AD 65/6 Phoenicia, AR Shekel of Tyre NGC MS

PHOENICIA. Tyre 126/5 BCE-AD 65/6. AR Shekel (14.26 gr). NGC MS Strike: 4/5 Surface: 4/5. Dated Civic Year 174 (48/49 AD). Obverse: laureate bust of Melkart right, lion skin tied around neck. Melkart was the tutelary gold of the city-state of Tyre in Phoenicia. Reverse reads: ΤΥPΟΥ ΙΕΡΑΣ-ΚΑΙ ΑΣΥΛΟΥ, with dramatic eagle standing left on prow, palm behind and over right wing. The eagle was the symbol of the god Melkart. A stunning example of this popular type. Attractive style, well struck and lustrous.  

Thirty pieces of silver of the bible

It is this coin—the Shekel of Tyre—that is famous as being the most likely candidate for the coin used to pay Judas Iscariot for the betrayal of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is generally accepted to be as such, for this Shekel coin was employed by Phoenician merchants in all their business dealings. Therefore, it was a well-recognized and universal coin.

Matthew 26:14-16: Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests, and said to them, 'What will ye give me if I deliver him to you?' And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him.

The painting of Judas receiving thirty pieces of silver for betraying Jesus by János Pentelei Molnár, 1909. Image: wikimedia.org.

The Tyre Shekel was issued from 126 BC to around the period of the First Jewish War in 69-70 AD on a regular, annual basis. This is quite an amazing fact, considering that the known world was quickly being swallowed up by the Roman Empire.  Jews had to pay an annual tax to the Temple in Jerusalem that was only payable in the coinage of Tyre. The Shekels of Tyre were commonly available in the area and were renowned for their good silver content and accurate weight.