Holy Land, Hasmonean (Maccabean) Dynasty, ca. 140 to 116 BCE. A modern setting for an ancient coin turned into a pendant. The mite, also known as the pruta, was the smallest bronze coin in the Jewish Holy Land in the centuries before the time of Christ. The symbol on one side is an eight-armed star; the other has an anchor. Size: 28" L (of string) x 0.7" W (of pendant) (71.1 cm x 1.8 cm).

These coins are referred to in the Gospel of Luke 21:1-4: "And he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury. And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites. And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all: For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had." They are also named in the Gospel of Mark 12:41-44, "And He sat down over against the treasury, and beheld how the multitude cast money into the treasury; and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a poor widow, and she cast in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, This poor widow cast in more than all they are casting into the treasury: for they did cast in of their superfluity; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living."

Provenance: Ex-Private Florida collection

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