In Exodus 30:15 the half-shekel tax is authorized which everyone paid to help with the upkeep of the Temple. One year, in order to pay the tax for Peter and himself, Jesus tells Peter, "Go to the lake and cast a hook; take the first fish that bites, open its mouth and there you will find a shekel; take it and give it to them for me and for you." (Matt. 17:27)

Only the silver shekel minted in Tyre or Syria was acceptable at the Jerusalem Temple. Images of any god were forbidden, but all shekels from foreign countries had them. This one pictures the minor Greek god Melqarth, one of the least offensive to the Jews. All other silver coins had to be converted into this (or the Syrian) type for Temple use. So the 30 pieces of silver given to Judas were most likely 30 of these shekels.

This shekel of Tyre was made in Jerusalem in 3 or 4 A.D.
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