Reply To: Jewish Money History and Historical Jewish Coin Chart

By Rabbi Yosef Sebrow

Published on Thursday, July 02, 2009

Alexander The Great: Greek Chic In Vogue

In sum, the following coins referenced in the Gemara were now known to be in circulation in Eretz Yisrael at the early time of Greek domination (Alexander III and Ptolemy I):

Mints loved bronzes because they had a high return on value. People loved bronzes because they facilitated small trades. It was a good match. The silver and gold coinages were much closer to actual value. Today, our cheapest denominations cost the most to make. The government currently loses money on every penny and nickel. Our expensive denominations, however, are cheap. It costs 6.2 cents per bill no matter what the denomination. We have managed to completely reverse the ancient money system.

Rabbi Yosef Sebrow is a musmach of Mesivta Tifereth Jerusalem and an alumnus of Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim. He is currently the IT Director at Star Financial and can be reached at [email protected]. He thanks his wife for her patience while he composed and researched this series and for all of her support.