Israel: “Widow’s mite” Ancient Coin Discovered Near the Dead Sea
by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – A 2,000 year-old coin of a type some experts describe as a “widow’s mite” was recently discovered near Israel’s Dead Sea by a young boy who was evacuated to the area following the Oct. 7 genocidal attack on Israeli civilians by the Hamas Palestinian terror group, All Israel News (AIN) reports.
Nati Tokiar, 11, found the tiny bronze coin on the ground while walking in the vicinity of the hotel he and his family were sent to after their home in Kibbutz Magen close to the border with Gaza was declared unsafe, AIN reports. Nati and his family turned the coin over to the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) which confirmed the artifact was minted during the reign of the Hasmonean King and high priest Alexander Jannaeus, who ruled over Judea in 104–76 B.C.
The coin is inscribed on one side with an illustration of an anchor and the Greek words “Alexandro Basilous,” denoting “(of) Alexander the King,” AIN reports. The other side has an 8-pointed star inside a crown. It has the king’s name and title in partly decipherable ancient Hebrew letters “[John]n /e /mal / [ch].” This type of coin was minted in abundance; a large number of such coins was found in the past at a Hasmonean-Herodian port of the Dead Sea called “Hurvat-Mazin.”
In a statement about Nati’s find, Dr. Robert Kool, head of the IAA coin division, said: “The proliferation of these coins along the Dead Sea coastline serves as a testament to the military campaigns and conquests waged against the Kingdom of Nabataea across the Jordan River. They facilitated payment to the king’s soldiers, fortified strategic outposts such as Masada, Machaerus, and Qumran, and contributed to the establishment of a naval fleet operating in the Dead Sea. Hence, the presence of the anchor symbol on the coin may well derive from this maritime activity.”
Biblical scholars believe this coin is of the type mentioned in the story of the Widow’s Mite in Gospels of Mark 12:41–44 and Luke 21:1–4, AIN said.
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