Shortly after the death of Alexander the Great, in B.C. 324, Palestine fell into the hands of Ptolemy I Soter, the son of Lagus, from whom Antigonus wrested it for a short time, until, in B.C. 301, after the battle of Ipsus, it came again into his hands, and afterwards was under the government of the Ptolemies for nearly one hundred j'ears.
The same system of coinage was continued under the Seleucidfe and Lagida?, and we find the same and other mints in Palestine. The history, from that time to B.C. 139, will be found under Ajjtiochus, jMaccabees, and other names, and would be out of place in an article which more especially treats only of money.
The next distinct allusion to coined money is in the Apocrypha, where it is narrated in the first book of Maccabees that Antiochus VH granted to Simon the Maccabee permission to coin money with his own stamp, as well as other privileges (Kai intTpiipd aoi Trotijo-at Ku/ifia 'tSiov vofiifffia T?j X^P^ <^'"^- ^^> ^)' '^ '"'^ "^'^^ in the fourth year of Simon's pontificate, B.C. 140. It must be noted that Demetrius II had in the first year of Simon, B.C. 143, made a most important decree grant- ing freedom to the Jewish people, which gave occasion to the dating of their contracts and covenants — '• In the first year of Simon, the great high-priest, the leader, and chief of the Jews" (xiii, 34-42), a form which Jose- phus gives differently — " In the first year of Simon, ben- •efactor of the Jews, and ethnarch" {Ant. xiii, 6). This passage has raised many opinions concerning the Jew- ish coinage, and among the most conspicuous is that of M. de Saulcy, whose classification of Jewish coins has been generally received and adopted. It has been fully treated upon by ]\Ir. J. Evans in the Numismatic Chron- icle (xx,^ sq.). See Numismatics. The Jews, being the worshippers of the one only true God, idolatry was strictly forbidden in their law ; and therefore their shekel never bore a head, but was impressed simply
Early Jewish Shekel.
with the almond rod and the pot of manna. Later shekels of copper bore likewise other devices. See Shekel.
Hebrew-Samaritan Copper Coin, in the Cuiico-Borgian Museum.
4. Money inthe New Testament. — The coins mentioned by the evangelists, and first those of silver, are the fol- lowing : the stater is spoken of in the account of the miracle of the tribute money. The receivers of di- drachms demanded the tribute, but Peter found in the fish a stater, which he paid for our Lord and himself (Matt, xvii, 24-27). This stater was therefore a tetra- drachm, and it is very noteworthy that at this period almost the only Greek imperial silver coin in the East was a tetradrachm, the didrachm being probably un- known, or very little coined.
The didrachm is mentioned as a money of account in the passage above cited, as the equivalent of the He- brew shekel.
The denarius, or Eoman penny, as well as the Greek drachm, then of about the same weight, is spoken of as a current coin. There can be little doubt that the latter is merely employed as another name for the former. In
Roman Denarius (from the British Museum).
MONEY
486
MOXGIN
the famous passages respecting the tribute to Cajsar, the Komau denarius of the time is correctlj' described (Matt, xxii, 15-21 ; Luke xx, 19-25). It bears the licad of Ti- berius, who has tlie title Cajsar in the accompanying inscription, most later emperors having, after their ac- cession, the title Augustus : here again therefore we have an evidence of the date of the Gospels. See Dkna- Eius; DKACii.>r.
Of copper coins the farthing and its half, the mite, are spoken of, and these probably formed the chief na- tive currency. See Farthing; Mite.
From tlie time of Julius Cassar, who first struck a liv- ing portrait on his coins, the Koman coins run in a con- tinued succession of so-called CiBsars, their queens and crown-princes, from about B.C. 48 down to Komulus Augustulus, emperor of the West, who was dethroned by Odoaoer about A.D. 475 (Quarieily liavkw, Ixxii, 358). Sec Coin.
Copper Coin of Vespasian commemorating the Capture i
MOXEY-CIIANGER (KoWvPiari'ic, Matt, xxi, 12 ; INIark xi, 15; John ii, 15). According to Exod. xxx, 13-15, every Israelite, whether rich or poor, who had reached or passed the age of twenty, must pay into the sacred treasury, whenever the nation was numbered, a hall-shekel as an offering to Jehovah. Maimonides (^Shekdl. cap. 1) says that this was to be paid annually, and that even paupers were not exempt. The Talmud excmi)ts priests and women. The tribute must in ev- ery case be paid in coin of the exact Hebrew half- shekel, about 15i(/. sterling of English money. The premium for obtaining by exchange of other money the half-shekel of Hebrew coin, according to the Talmud, was a KoWvlioc (colh/bns), and hence the money-broker who made the exchange was called KoWvjiiffriii: The collyhus, according to the same authority, was equal in value to a silver obolus, which has a weight of 12 grains, and its money value is about \hl. sterling. The money- changers (KoWvfiitJTai) whom Christ, for their imiiie- ty, avarice, and fraudulent dealing, expelled from the Temple, were the dealers who supplied half-shekels, for such a premium as they might be able to exact, to the Jews from all parts of the world, who assembled at Je- rusalem during the great festivals, and were required to pay their tribute or ransom money in the Hebrew coin ; and also for other purposes of exchange, such as would be necessary in so great a resort of foreign residents to the ecclesiastical metropolis. The word Tpa7ri'Ciri]Q {trapeziles), which we find in Matt, xxv, 29, is a gen- eral term for banker or broker, so called from the table (rpoTTi^j/r) at whicli they were seated (like the modern " bank," i. e. heiicli). See ExcitAN(;KK. Of this l)ranch of business we find traces very early botli in the Orien- tal and classical literature (comp. JIatt. xvii, 24-27 : see Lightfoot, Jfor. Ileh. on JIatt. xxi, 12; IJuxtorf, Lex. Rabbin, col. 20.32). — Smith. It is mentioned by Volney that in Syria, Egypt, and Turkey, when any considera- ble payments are to be made, an agent of exchange is sent for, who counts paras by thousands, rejects jiieces of false money, and weighs all the seipiins either sepa- rately or together. It has hence been suggested tliat the "current money with the merchant" mentioned in Scripture (<ien. xxiii, 10), niiglit have been such as was approved of by competent judges, whose business it